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Post by imec on Jul 26, 2009 19:30:22 GMT
Well, the next day was Sunday, so the supermarket was closed. The nearest store was in Cahuzac-sur-Vere, 6km away. More about that soon...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2009 19:33:58 GMT
6 km is walking distance to us peasants.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2009 19:45:46 GMT
That looks like such a nice relaxing place.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 26, 2009 19:51:30 GMT
I love the place names!
So I presume you just did a shopping for the necessities of life and then went to the supermarket on Monday. Did the rental already have things like washing powder, perhaps some coffee, cooking and salad oil etc? Perhaps a complimentary bottle or two of local wine?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2009 20:03:50 GMT
Or maybe just 2 teabags?
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Post by imec on Jul 26, 2009 20:58:03 GMT
There wasn't much of anything but I did sort out breakfast and other meals for Sunday. I've written part 2 and now just have to sort through some pictures. Got to go do some errands so may not get back to this until tomorrow.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2009 21:31:10 GMT
Man, get your priorities straightened out!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2009 21:46:46 GMT
imec, it's good of you to take the time to write it all out for us.
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Post by Jazz on Jul 26, 2009 22:18:58 GMT
You're a better man than I am, Imec. ;D The last time I was in France (one month Paris, one week Provence) I only wrote 5 postcards and not one post. It took me another 3 months to write my personal trip report, 40 single spaced pages.
What a convoluted arrival! You chose well and I love your country home! This area is unknown to me and I can't wait to hear about it and perhaps your day with our lovely bjd?
And, I am very interested in your feelings about Paris.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 26, 2009 22:59:32 GMT
I was reading up on the area and was sad that there was no longer a train to Gaillac. You have to take a coach (bus) from Toulouse. Since I don't drive, I have to be closer to transport, and I love trains. Train plus bicycle if possible, but I think that area is too hilly for my boomer-vintage and slightly arthritic limbs. Jazz, one of the most interesting historical aspects of the area is les bastides - armed, planned new towns. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastide
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 27, 2009 1:34:55 GMT
Yaaaay ~~ we're going to get The World According to Pechingorp!
Will you do it in this thread, Imec, or distance yourself from the meaningless twittering of those you left behind and put it in an elegant Imec en la France thread?
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Post by cigalechanta on Jul 27, 2009 2:12:34 GMT
I don't post when on vacation but once staying in the Marais was a local cybor cafe and the two sisters who ran it were very kind to show me how to use the French computer so I could read my emails
LagattamI have a book on the bastides and visited several
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Post by imec on Jul 27, 2009 2:37:40 GMT
I was the first to wake up on Sunday morning. I quietly got dressed and headed out to Cahuzac-sur-Vere to find us something to eat. It was a gorgeous sunny day and it was a delightful drive to the village. The village is quite small but does have a small store, "Cote a Cote", which housed a Butcher and Baker and also sold a variety of other provisions. Of course I was like a kid in a candy shop. I started by picking out some nice looking beefsteak and plum tomatoes, some pretty haricots vert, potatoes and such and then moved on to the baker. I'm a sucker for fresh baked bread and after choosing a couple of nice looking loaves I somehow figured I needed a third. The baker pointed to one he seemed rather proud of and I agreed to that one as well. I paid him and he wrapped the bread, gave me my change and seemed to sing me a song - he was either thanking me and wishing me a good day or telling me to piss off the the most delightful way anyone ever has - it really didn't matter, especially as the next thing I had to focus on was where to put the bloody bread down as it quickly burned my hands and arms. What next? Well, we would need some meat for dinner, and a little ham or something might do nicely with the warm bread for breakfast. I had the butcher wrap up what I thought was a little bit of ham - 8 slices - which turned out to be about a pound and a half as the slices, even though thin, were so large. Some pork rilletes was next, and then I spied it out of the corner of my eye - Fois Gras!!! I picked out a "healthy" jar of that and then selected several cheeses and some butter. Some pork chops and some Confit de Canard satisfied all of the food requirements for the next day or so. All that was need now was some beer (Pelforth) and some wine - several bottles of local rose and red. As I drove back to the house tears welled in my eyes. It was a combination of the joy of living a dream I have had for a long time, the regret of not doing it sooner and the question of when will I get to do it again. I soon remembered though that I had a capable car on a twisty road with no other cars on it - I gave the Bavarian beauty the thrashing it was built for and was back with the snoring crowd in a blink of an eye. I didn't feel too bad about rousting the crew as I knew it would be best for their jet lag adjustment and I did have warm bread after all. We really enjoyed our breakfast of warm country bread and butter, fabulous ham and wonderful aged Comte and then set about discovering our new surroundings. The house was really something. It's core apparently dates back to the 17th century but has been extensively remodeled - much of the character and charm has been retained but it has been fitted with all the modern conveniences and quality materials had been used throughout - even the stereo system was up to my critical standards. The main living space was quite open with just a short (although 2 feet thick!) stone wall separating the kitchen from the living and dining areas. The rest of the house consisted of 4 bedrooms - 2 up (the main level) and 2 down. 3 of the bedrooms have ensuites and there was also an additional large bathroom on the main level as well as a large laundry room. The two downstairs bedrooms were separated by a large living space which had kitchen. dining and sitting space making the property ideal for 2 families sharing (or absolutely massive for just us 4!). Outside the main entrance was a very large covered patio which had a couple of dining tables, a ping pong table a bbq and an old wine press (the juice from the pressed grapes ran into a large wooden vat in the cellar for fermentation). The house sits on grounds of about three and a half acres up on a hill with beautiful views over the surrounding vineyards and farmland. Castelnau de Montmirail, a medieval bastide village could be seen clearly from the lawn just uphill from the house. The 12 metre pool with it's large sundeck provided great fun for all of us. The rest of the day was spent hanging around the pool and going for the short drive over to Castelnau de Montmirail. Can you spot the imecs? (there's 3 here) Prior to dinner that evening we had a "snack" of fois gras, duck rillettes, ham and some sliced plum tomatoes washed down with a refreshing rose (forgot to get an approriate sweet wine to accompany the fois gras - oh well, we "made do"). Dinner later was grilled pork chops, steamed haricots vert, boiled potatoes over which I let grated Comte melt and some sliced beefsteak tomatoes - a local Gaillac red completed the picture. The cheeses to follow were an Epoisses and more of the Comte. We eventually retired VERY satisfied that evening.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2009 4:49:30 GMT
The house looks great -- I am particularly stunned by the size of it, compared to our tiny Parisian dwellings.
You did well with your shopping. I do not drink Sauternes with foie gras, so as far as I'm concerned you did the right thing to drink rosé with it.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 27, 2009 11:12:31 GMT
That house is absolutely huge - were such houses barns or stables as well as family dwellings, in centuries past? Nice car, too.
cigale, I can type (without looking) on either a Québec keyboard - a North American one modified for the accents - and a French one, though it takes me a couple of days to switch over without making any errors.
imac, liver is FOIE in French. It has two common homonyms: fois - times (il était une fois - once upon a time; un à la fois - one at a time...) and foi - faith.
As for foie, I'd like to inflict some of that wonderful rosé on mine - though not right now as it is 7 am here and I'm drinking espresso. Your snack looks delicious. Assuming you are doing enough walking in the countryside to work off all that wonderful food.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2009 11:25:45 GMT
These were well worth the wait imec! The house,the garden,accompanying countryside,all make for an idyllic family holiday. I would have difficulty leaving the "compound" you had there to go out sightseeing. Long walks or bike rides for me out and about exploring. How close by were the nearest neighbors? Wonderful a.m. eyeful for me,thanks! (I know I have a bunch more questions but will reserve for now).
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Post by imec on Jul 27, 2009 12:17:24 GMT
kerouac, the place was massive - far bigger than we expected. lagatta, there was a photograph of the house taken when the owners bought the place as a virtual ruin about 20 years ago - hay was in fact overflowing from the patio and from the main living space. Sorry about the "foie pas" - I know this yet I ALWAYS make that error - burned in me peabrain for some reason. casimira, the nearest neighbors (a couple which farmed sheep) were only about a hundred yards away, but not at all obtrusive as they were down the hil and obscured by trees. The only sounds we heard were the sheep and, once, a tractor. It was indeed difficult to leave the place - especially on the last day. Had we not had the excitement of France to look forward to it would have been torture. The next parts of the report will focus more on the sights - so if you have questions about the house and such, don't hesitate (although at some point today I have to begin catch up with my work).
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 27, 2009 14:25:35 GMT
Oh, Imec ~~ thank you for this wonderful report and all the great pictures! WOW on the house. You all must have been dumbfounded when you drove up to it for the first time. I know you'd seen pictures of it, but the reality of that all that stone beauty in the French countryside had to have been a thrill.
I love your description of your feelings as you brought breakfast to the family. How perfect that you all were able to do this as a family while your kids are still young enough to be at home, but old enough to appreciate and remember the experience.
Was the house always a dwelling, or did it start out as something else? It looks like a very sensitive job of renovation and retrofitting. I'm glad you included that picture of the dividing wall between the dining room & kitchen. Yes, you said that it was 2 feet thick, but to see it in place really made the dimensions real.
The grounds are a perfect setting for the house. There's a stand of bamboo! I wonder if it was planted as a screen for the pool. It's so pretty and unexpected in that spot. The series of photos of the grounds after that are a delight. I love how you interspersed long views over the landscape with intimate peeks at nooks by the house and the sunflower in the wheat.
That town is an entire compendium of building styles throughout the centuries. Any idea if the exposed timber style is the oldest?
It was lovely to see your relaxing supper after such an exciting day. A trivial note, but I love the tableware and the modern furniture matched with the massive "stoniness" of that house.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 27, 2009 14:32:17 GMT
I do too, bixa, and it isn't trivial. Sometimes I've felt very oppressed by heavy dark furniture in old stone houses in Italy, lovely as all the items and buildings were.
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Post by spindrift on Jul 27, 2009 18:22:41 GMT
Imec - I've really enjoyed seeing your photos and forming a picture in my mind of where you are. were
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Post by auntieannie on Jul 27, 2009 19:13:32 GMT
thank you for this!
"Il était une fois, dans la ville de Foy, une marchande de foie, qui se dit ma fois, c'est la premiere fois et la derniere fois que je vends du foie, dans la ville de Foy"
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Post by Jazz on Jul 27, 2009 23:00:11 GMT
This thread is a sensual delight, thank you! Your french 'home' is indeed beautiful and spacious...I love its age, the stones and the beams. I am looking at your simple repast of bread, foie gras and rose and quite simply, want to be there. Did you spend beautiful evenings watching the slowly changing colors of the sky, the rooftops of the small village, the trees...drinking good wine and being at peace? I did. To quote you, "As I drove back to the house tears welled in my eyes. It was the combination of the joy of living a dream I have had for a long time, the regret of not doing it sooner and the question of when I will get to do it again.", imec. You express perfectly how I felt, then and now. *ahem* You had four bedrooms...four of us could have come with you!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2009 23:57:35 GMT
I had offered FREE au pair services for the young imecs amusement out of the kindness of my heart
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Post by imec on Jul 28, 2009 1:11:29 GMT
Did you spend beautiful evenings watching the slowly changing colors of the sky, the rooftops of the small village, the trees...drinking good wine and being at peace? All of that. And how the colors of the land change as the sun sets. Actually it would have been a lot of fun if a bunch of you just showed up - there certainly was room and I LOVE cooking for a crowd. Maybe next time. Anyway, more to come - soon.
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Post by hwinpp on Jul 28, 2009 5:11:42 GMT
Nice digs!
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Post by lola on Jul 28, 2009 15:50:24 GMT
Wow. Nice, imec. Beautiful photos. Thank you!
*Suppressing vacation envy with some difficulty.*
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Post by imec on Jul 28, 2009 16:24:30 GMT
*Suppressing vacation envy with some difficulty.* BTW... Me? Suppressing vacation withdrawal with MUCH difficulty.
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Post by imec on Jul 28, 2009 23:08:41 GMT
One thing we should get on the table before I take this much further is a key characteristic of our travel style. Vacations to us not only mean a chance to see new things but are also a chance to get some relaxing done. Therefore, we tend to sleep late - meaning that many of you may be surprised by how little we get done in any given day. The cost of this of course is that we don't get to see nearly as many things as we'd like, but we do come home rested and ready to get back to work. Anyway, It works for us. By about noon on Monday after rising late, enjoying a leisurely breakfast and having a quick dip in the pool, we headed out for the Leclerc supermarket. Now most of my "man" friends would avoid this like the plague - for me, this would be a highlight of the trip! The Leclerc was on the southwest side of Gaillac - about a 15 minute drive from "our" house. We never tired of driving around these country roads. The roads (many lined with Plane trees) were dotted with wineries, the fields with varying colours and textures and there were loads of pretty old houses, barns and pigeoniers to look at. I did manage to get lost several times (real men don't use GPS) but that was all part of the fun. From the outside, the supermarket was like most any other and could just as easily have been in Gainsville as in Gaillac. On the inside however, there was no comparison! The first treat was the bakery. More different sizes and shapes of bread than I had ever seen in one space. Resisting the urge to throw one of everything in the cart, we settled on a couple of baguettes, a larger loaf for making toast and two focaccia type loaves - one with Emmental and lardons, the other with Roquefort and walnuts. It was everything I could do not to start devouring it on the spot. The kids spotted the pastries (how couldn't they, there were several square metres of them) and after painful consideration chose some berry tarts and some round puff pastry things filled with chocolate ganache (the name which escapes me was church related as the shape suggested that type of building). Mrs imec and I settled on an apple tart. Oh, and some little choux pastry things like little golden clouds that almost melted in your mouth. Next came the meat and the charcuterie. The selection of hanging dried sausages was dizzying but I managed to select a couple of beauties. Shortly after, I was overwhelmed by the selection of various meats and decided to give up and return a bit later to decide. For now it was off to the cheese section. If my supermarket at home carried just a fraction of the cheeses on display I would be a happy man. This was just completely stupefying - all of the cheeses I had ever tasted or merely read about and more - many of them in several versions or brands. I could have spent the whole day browsing through them and wished I had the full year necessary to properly enjoy every one of them. We settled on some Roquefort, another blue I can't remember, some Comte, a Petit Pont l'Eveque and a Puy d'Angloys and headed over to the wine section. Even if they had a crappy wine section this would still be a treat as our ridiculous government controlled distribution and retail system for liquor does not allow supermarkets to carry alcoholic beverages of any sort. Here I was able to stock up on local wines (it didn't seem right to be drinking Burgundy or Bordeaux even though the prices and selection were very attractive compared to home), some Gentian based aperitif, some Port (I do like my blue cheese with a drop o' port), some cider from Normandy and some more of the excellent (in warm weather) Pelforth beer. The produce section held more nice surprises in store. Lettuces of a type I had never seen, beautiful tomatoes that looked like little red pumpkins, fava beans (a big favorite of mine which I rarely see at home), white peaches, mache (known as Lamb's Lettuce at home - but something I'd never actually seen), wonderful torpedo shaped radishes.... we carefully selected some pretty specimens of each as well as some other staples and headed back to the charcuterie. After selecting some more sausage and some very nice ham, some chicken and some ribeye steaks we were about to depart when I noticed a big stack of whole, fresh Foie Gras!!! Although they looked fantastic (about half a kilo each) something was awry. They had clearly been mispriced. A whole Foie Gras of that size at home (when I could get it) would set me back $100 - these were priced at about 11 Euros. Well, I had to have one and grabbed the one I wanted and we'd find out how much it was at the cashier (which indeed turned out to be 11 Euros - stunning!). Well, as I said, it was about noon when we headed out and I spent a LOT of time in this place so all that was left to do that day was head back to our little piece of Paradise, eat, swim, eat some more, make dinner... you get the picture. We would return later in the week for more cheese (a fabulous Epoisses), fresh sausages, bread and a few other items including snacks for the drive to Paris. I don't know if anyone has ever said this about a supermarket but I miss this place terribly. (sorry about the supermarket pictures. They were taken by the kids as I'm a bit self conscious about taking pictures where people normally don't. I know, silly, but there you go - I may be 51 but in some respects I'm still as shy as when I was 15.) Mrs. imec's favorite cheese: Young Mr. imec's favorite (he learned better later in the week developing a tatse for aged Comte) Foie Gras alert! My whole Foie Gras - raw... and cooked
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 29, 2009 1:06:42 GMT
I LOVE this report! This is the kind of thing I always wonder about "foreign" places. And by foreign, I mean anyplace different or just more sophisticated than where I live.
I was fine until you showed the wine aisle, and then a heartbroken little moaning whine escaped me. I'm not even craving great wines, simply a solid, interesting selection of decent wines. Then, once I'd controlled the sniffling, you had to show the cooked foie gras. *covet*
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Post by imec on Jul 29, 2009 1:25:27 GMT
What was really cool about the wine aisle was that they were shelved according to price - the bottom shelf 2-3 Euros, the next shelf 3-5 Euros etc. I've never actually seen that before although I was well aware of the concept from the term "top shelf" when referring to more expensive products.
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