Saturday, August 16, 2008

Per your request

The house we are staying in is perfect. It's cottage-like (see photo in previous blog), it's got three small bedrooms upstairs, a nice living area and kitchen on the main floor and downstairs there is a spare room, washer/dryer, freezer, etc. It's very close to the train station, which we are getting very good at taking. There is a Carrefour right down the road, so we can get fresh baguettes and croissants daily, along with paper towels, veggies, etc. It's kind of like a super Wal-Mart. We'd rather go to little markets, but sometimes necessity kicks in. Also, down a few blocks is Ville Centre (the center of town). Here we have shops, cafes, hotels, etc. Very nice just to walk around a while. The weather, pretty great here. During the day it's just right - maybe around 80 degrees. At night when it gets dark (usually about 10 pm) we put on our jackets. We had to buy a umbrella because it will sprinkle every other day, but just for a few minutes.


The night before last we went to Le Chaumiere with Karrie, Antoine and baby Abby. This was quite an experience. We drove about an hour and a half (no, we didn't get lost) to a small village outside of Rouen. We winded through the skinny roads, down the hills past the farms and on to a brick street that led us to the restaurant. Karrie knows the owner so we sat in the back of the restaurant, which we had to walk through the kitchen to get to. Pretty neat to see the cooks who are preparing your meal. The owner took our order... we had an apertif and chatted a bit. Our meals came. Veal, steak with roquefort and white fish. When the main course was finished the waitress brought out a piece of wood that had six different types of cheeses. We all chose a few and enjoyed some of the most incredible molds ever! After drinking quite a bit of Calvados we said our final goodbyes and headed home. This time we took the right highways and were in bed by 2 am!













Last night we went to Le Cafe Du Commerce. (http://www.lecafeducommerce.com)
Mary and Rich gave us a meal here (along with a strong recommendation) as a wedding gift. Thanks to both of them! We had the onion soup - mmmm! Ethan had the 'Authentique andouillette A.A.A.A.A. grillée, frites maison'. I had the 'Ravioles fraîches, fromage et champignons, gratinées au Beaufort'. My food was, délicieuse. Ethan's was...lets just say it tasted a little strong. We had red table wine (all the wine here is fantastic) with the meal and afterwards Ethan ordered the 'Dame blanche' and I had a cafe au lait. I wanted cheese, but we were way too full! The maitre'd was pleased with our willingness to try to speak French, we didn't even look at the English menus he gave us.

On to the Eiffel Tower today!

3 comments:

Earl said...

Thanks for another great post. It's almost like I was there...almost.

Remember, if you're going to throw your baret off the off the Eiffel tower, make sure there are no little dogs in the area.

Soyez un porc! Soyez un porc!

Unknown said...

great details! have you heard how the french family is doing in your house??

Anonymous said...

I love your blog!! I feel like I am vicariously enjoying wine and cheese there with you. But really I am enjoying papaya and macadamia nuts in Hawaii - we just got here yesterday and it is heavenly. I will commandeer your blog briefly to tell all interested Foulkes readers that we are staying at a B&B on a ranch at the top of a big hill overlooking the ocean. (It's almost enough to make taking the bar exam worth it - almost). We are off to pet some baby goats and sheep, and then hit the beach. But when we get back tonight, we will start up the computer again and hope to hear more about your fabulous dinners and sightseeing!
xo
Rish