After three wonderful days in Paris, Gilles, his parents, and I flew down to Pau. As soon as we landed we rushed to Les Halles, the morning market, to stock up on food for the coming days. Walking through a large French food market is a great cultural experience, and our guests were enthralled by the countless cheese vendors, butchers, olive stands, fishmongers, traiteurs, and many more. We picked up numerous cheeses, pâtés, foie gras, olives, fruit and vegetables, then rushed home for a French lunch in the sunny backyard.
That was not the end of our food errands. On Christmas Eve we picked up more supplies for the coming feasts. We visited our favourite poissonerie (fishmonger) for an essential component to any French Christmas: oysters. There are several varieties, each available in three or four sizes. The French buy them by the crate, but we opted for a much smaller quantity of 18 to enjoy before seafood chowder on Christmas Eve. Next, we visited our favourite chicken guy. He sets up a traveling rotisserie in the parking lot of a nearby bakery every Sunday, and we visit him almost weekly. His chickens are incredible (and I never thought I would say that about a chicken), so we chose to buy our chapon from him this year. Then, off to the bakery to pick up our pre-ordered bûche de noël and our daily bread. I am sure that Nancy and Bernard would say that running food errands was one of their favourite French activities!
Amongst all the shopping and subsequent eating, we did manage to fit in a few day trips. As with most of our guests, we ventured to two coastal villages: France's St Jean de Luz and Spain's San Sebastian. The latter includes the much loved activity of visiting tapas bars. We also visited Lourdes, Toulouse, and the medieval village of Carcassonne.
Their visit seemed to fly by, and before we knew it we were dropping them off at the airport. It was their first Christmas away from home, and while there were some unfamiliar aspects, they loved experiencing some new traditions. Thanks for a wonderful time!
1 comment:
Gilles & April: Our visit in Pau was equally as enjoyable as our Paris experience, but different. Our day trips out of Pau were very enjoyable. In Pau, we particularly enjoyed the market and sharing many YUMMY foods and drinks (fraise tight). We were blessed to be able to spend such a memorable Christmas with both of you. We know now we can accept changes; (Christmas Eve chowder vs meatpie, Christmas dinner chapon vs turkey, Christmas gift opening Christmas morning vs Christmas Eve). Again, Gilles & April, thanks for a great time. Have a wonderful New Year '09. Love Mom & Dad
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