Onion fayre

On Saturday we were invited do go to a local onion fayre with some friends. I can’t say that onions seemed like a very exciting theme for a ‘foire’, but it would be a nice day catching up with our friends.

We were totally surprised, when we arrived, at the amount of visitors that the festival had attracted. They’d blocked off the high street to the little village of Chavanges, and it was packed with stalls either side of the road selling all sorts of goodies.

Obviously there were onions, yellow, red, big, small and garlic of all types, including smoked, but here was also Champagne, cheeses and meats, plants and all sorts of homemade crafts. Further into the market there were stalls selling clothing, toys, books, tools, homeware etc. It was looking to be a surprisingly good event after all.

We started by stopping for a little aperitif with our Champagne producing friend Jérôme Cothias, who had a grand stand near to the entrance. Suitably fortified, we then tried some cheese and hams from a couple of the stalls, deciding that we would go back and buy some on our way back.

We then found a little eating area selling rather delicious looking, warmed onion tart with Champagne. I think I will try and make some at home with the onions I bought as they were very tasty.

Step up

We started our day with some locally produced apple juice, some lightly toasted nut bread, homemade pomelo marmalade and freshly made frothy coffee. Brian was then keen to get back to work in the library. He wanted to add in a step in front of the doors to the walled garden.

He started by evening out the floor at the front of the step with some small batons.

He had enough oak, and other pieces of wood, to do the job without having to buy any more.

Obviously his trusty laser needed to be used, to ensure the levels were correct. He cut the first piece of oak to size to fit along the front of the step.

He then cut the oak for the step itself and sanded it. To prevent any draughts he stuck some insulation between the back of the step and the wall.

Rather a lot of banging later, we were both very pleased with the outcome, it really helps to frame the door. All I need to do now is get some linseed oil on it.

Man-handled

During the summer our favourite little pickaxe for gardening broke. It’s not surprising, as our soil is a mixture of thick, claggy clay and limestone rocks. Whilst outside in his workshop Brian came across an old pickaxe head which he’d picked up from a vide grenier, so he decided to spend some time resurrecting it ready for next year.

First he cut a strip of oak off a piece he saved from when he made the stairs.

Then he whittled the end into a circle, to fit into the pickaxe head.

Once that fitted he turned to an old tool he’d bought for a few euros in another vide grenier we’d visited in the summer.

It’s a long blade, attached to two wooden handles, that you use to shave wood.

The blade worked brilliantly, and he soon had a smooth handle.

He cut a slot in the top, where the handle enters the pickaxe head, and then cut a small wedge to fit in it. This helps to spread the wood so that it doesn’t fall out.

Once it had been glued and hammered in, all that was left was to cut the end off, and ‘voila’, a new pickaxe for the garden. I can see me using that new old tool a lot in the garden.

A bit of a nuisance

We waved goodbye to our family this morning. It’s always a little hard saying goodbye, but for me, I throw myself into getting tidied up, whilst Brian headed to his workshop to start back on the bibliothèque.

He wanted to try out his router, and start cutting some skirting.

It was all going well, until his bit broke! Blast!! In actual fact though we think he’d already cut just enough. Which is fortunate as a replacement bit has about a three week delivery time.

Fête de la pomme

We decided to have dinner in Troyes last night, and enjoyed a delicious meal at ‘les Crieurs des vins’, a lovely little restaurant and wine merchants that serves delicious, typical French fare. It meant though that we got back a little late, and all a little tired from our eventful day in Troyes. we were all ready for a lazy start to our Sunday.

I suggested we could then either go for a walk through the local vineyards or head to an apple festival in the village of Laignes, about 30 minutes away.

Everyone was up for going to the ‘fête de la pomme’, as we hadn’t been before, and I think we were all looking forward to a little excursion.

We arrived just on lunch time, but the stall holders were still all keen to chat and explain their produce with us. We particularly liked a stall selling various ‘crème de’ liquors, which were around 18% alcohol. The lady mixed us a crème de raspberry, lime juice, mint and cider cocktail, which was rather delicious. It was enough to convince us all to buy some.

In the centre of the market square they’d set up a juicing stall, where a number of the growers were helping to squeeze the apples to make deliciously, fresh fruit juice.

Such a fantastic day out. for lunch, we chose a little stall where the lady was making spicy, salt cod fritters. We had a selection of them which included some aubergine and prawn ones, followed by some syrupy plantain for dessert. All rather scrumptious.

Prunelle de Troyes

We made a little trip into Troyes. We had beautiful blue skies, so an ideal day to do a bit of city sight seeing.

We first headed along to the Cathedral, next to the museum of fine arts. But before heading into the cathedral I asked my brother and family if they fancied trying some ‘Prunelle de Troyes’. ‘Love to’ was the general response. So we headed into the small, old shop on the corner just opposite the cathedral.

I knew they would offer a tasting, but they also offered us a short tour of the distillery, which turned out to be quite fascinating.

The distillery had been there since 1840, and pretty much unchanged during that time, as has the way in which they make the liqueur, which is made from the tiny stones of small plums grown locally. It used to be made only from the fruit, but that meant they couldn’t make it in winter, so they tried making it with the stones, that can be stored for longer, and the taste was so good they now only use the stones. The stones are ground down, then left to soak in alcohol. The liquid is then boiled and condensed twice over and a sugary syrup is added for additional flavour. This process is still followed today, and every Friday the staff fire up the stills and delight in making more of their precious liqueur.

The recipe has been the same for nearly 200 years, the only thing that has changed is the name. This delicious, nutty liqueur was once called ‘La Prunelle de Champagne’ but in 1998, at the request of the Champagne winemaker’s committee, they were asked to stop using the name Champagne. So they changed the name to Prunelle de Troyes, which we think is better.

After the little tour and explanation we were offered a tasting back in the shop. No harm in a little tipple. It has a sweet, slightly almond taste, which the lady said makes a great digestif. I’m also thinking it would be good as a little treat over some honeycomb ice cream.

Autumn Flowers

One little last thing to do, before our family arrived, was one of my favourite jobs, preparing the flowers for the rooms. I’d managed to buy some dahlias at the market, although not as many as I’d thought. I need to learn not to leave them behind the stall once I’ve paid for them whilst I go and do the rest of my shopping, as the flower lady seems to get very confused and inadvertently sells them again. Never mind, I had enough, and she refunded me my four euros for the bunch she had resold.

I made a couple of simple vases up for the rooms, and an eclectic mix of vases for around the rest of the house.

I then made up a little yellow jug of flowers just from the garden. I love the autumn colours coming through in the foliage and the flowers.

Epiphany

We had stopped for a coffee in our usual café, when Brian looked up from his cup and said ‘Why don’t we just buy another Crosley’.

For weeks now we’ve been thinking about a new record playing system, as our old one is broken, and every time we come back to look at them we end up looking at something more and more expensive. I’m not sure that is what we want and it’s why we hadn’t made a decision.

‘If we buy a super duper system we might find the sound quality is just too good, and we like the warmth of the one we had, which sounded like something from our childhood, so why don’t we just get another Crosley like the one we had?’.

There was a lot of sense to that, and he followed it up with a few other points that also helped us decide that this was definitely the way to go. When we looked at the new Crosleys we also found they’ve improved them, it’s now possible to play them via Bluetooth through our UE boom speaker as well. So the decision was made, we went online and bought one the same day.

It arrived two days later, and I have to say, it’s everything we wanted. We’re very simple in our needs, we just wanted a record player that gives us the ambience that suits the house, and this lovely little player does just that. We are very happy we can once again enjoy all our old records.

Log delivery

It was a hearty breakfast this morning to start our day. We had a bit of clearing up in the garden before my brother Jon and his family arrive at the weekend, and we felt we needed some fortifying.

During the day, Brian had a call from our friend Charles, saying he had cut some wood and was ready to deliver it, if we were around. Perfect, we were here all day, so it would be great to have a visit. We arranged for him to come by at the end of the afternoon.

Between the three of us, we soon had it unloaded and stacked in the barn. It’s a good moment for all of us, we practice our french and Charles practices his English.

I love it when we have stocked up for the winter.

Fauteuil

Brian took a message this morning from Philippe Ulsas, our upholsterer. He said he was ready to deliver our two chairs back to us. We were both so excited to see what they look like.

He’d sent us some photographs early in the day, showing them stripped down, and said he could bring them over ‘après midi’ if we were available. Perfect.

He pulled into the courtyard, just as it started to drizzle. He greeted us warmly and said they were all wrapped up, so not to worry about the weather. Brian helped him unload them and take them into the house. They were soon unwrapped and perfectly positioned in the salon.

They look absolutely amazing, with each chairs pattern perfectly matching the other.

Who’d have thought our old, grey chairs would look so beautiful, and be delightfully comfortable. They look simply stunning in the salon, however we had them renovated to go in the bibliothèque, so this is their temporary home for now.

Fête du pain

If the French are going to have a festival of anything, it should be bread. And so we were delighted when our friends from the nearby village of Dienville invited us to join them for the ‘Fête du pain’ in the small village of Trannes.

It was a typical low key event, with minimal advertising and signage, but the turnout was big and the stalls were varied. They have 7 wood fired bread ovens in the village and once a year fire them up to cook bread. We bought some bread straight away from the ‘maison pour tous’, as we were advised that it sells out quickly, we also bought our pizza tickets. The queue for the pizzas was growing quickly, even though it wasn’t lunchtime yet.

So we joined the queue, acknowledging that it would probably be lunchtime by the time we got to the front.

The queue moved surprisingly quickly, mostly because of the enormous, and very hot, bread oven that they were using. The pizzas spent about 30 seconds in there before they were whipped out again and served up.

We chose our toppings from a list further up the queue, and were soon ordering them. Moments later we had our beautiful pizzas.

Lovely event, lovely pizzas!

Le Garde Champêtre - first in

Our friend Sharon had asked whether we could go back to le Garde Champêtre for a meal, as we’d been there earlier in the year for my birthday and we had all enjoyed it. Never one to miss an opportunity to enjoy their tasting menu, I nipped onto their website and made us a reservation.

We were first in, at 7pm, and chose the table in the far corner. Comfortably seated, where we wouldn’t disturb others with our chatter and laughter (although it is a lively restaurant with lots of enthusiastic nattering), we ordered an absolutely stunning bottle of Champagne from Pierre Gerbais.

We also had a perfect view of the kitchen and their open, wood fire oven, which really adds a deep flavour to their dishes.

The food here is a marvellous fusion of French inspired dishes with more than a little Japanese influence. The menu tonight looked very interesting, a slightly challenging course of ‘boudin noir’ for Sharon, but she was so glad she tried it as it was absolutely delicious. Can you guess which plate that was?

Fontainebleu

After the display of the Napoleon period, we were lead through into a series of gorgeously oppulant rooms, that had been lived in over many years by the 2 emperors and 34 kings of France.

The rooms and furniture oozed wealth and comfort for the royalty of the day, both for them, their families and their courtiers.

Even the corridors connecting the various wings of the chateau were grand and ornate.

A wonderful thing to see is how many of the silks and furnishings in the rooms have been restored, woven in recent years by artisans in Lyon who faithfully recreated the materials, their colours, and the styles that were originally used. This gave a real vibrancy to the rooms, and a true feeling of how they would have looked. Often period buildings can look tired and unloved, but Fontainebleau is full of colour, and feels cared for.

It’s a spectacular experience, and well worth a visit. We were all so glad we made the drive.

Napoleon’s Fontainebleu

On entering the chateau we were taken up to a series of rooms that were focused on Napoleons time at Fontainebleu. He lived there on and off from 1804–1814

There is a rather spectacular painting of him as you enter the first of a series of rooms about his life. The incredible gaucheness spilling from the artwork set us up for what we were about to enjoy.

The following rooms, were filled with fabulous gifts from royalty and loyal followers that demonstrate the wealth and power of a man who played such a major part in French history and the Europe we know today. I think what surprised me more than anything was the quality of the gifts that had been bestowed on him, the craftsmanship and intricate detailing were simply gorgeous to see.

It’s an impressive collection, and quite breathtaking.

Fontainebleau gardens

This morning we woke early for a little day trip to Fontainebleau, the palace of the kings. It’s about 90 minutes by car from us, but our friend Sharon is staying with us for a few days, so we thought we’d have a little outing and make the trip together. It’s such an easy, pleasant drive. We arrived around 10.30am, and first found a little café for some coffee, before heading into the chateau which sits conveniently just on the edge of the town. The entrance is rather spectacular, with a sweeping, horseshoe style staircase greeting you.

Before we went in though, we hopped on ‘le petit train’ for a lazy little ride around the garden. We thought, as it was drizzling with rain, this would be a great way for us to see the gardens today without getting too wet.

It was a perfect way to see the chateau from the outside. Situated all around the rather spectacular gardens are lots of little quiet secluded seating areas, impressive water features and stunning vistas, that look across the formal gardens and into the parkland beyond.

The gardens are actually free to wander around, and would make a charming visit all on their own.

Réaut – part two

Back at his cellar Alexander Réaut explained how the work in the vineyard enhances his grapes, the rich earth giving the vines the environment they need to produce concentrated fruit. The living soil retaining water, and encouraging natural competition, which in turn encourages the vines to dig deeper and release the mineral deposits found deep in the bedrock.

His cellar was also designed with the environment in mind. Built into the side of the quarry, its temperature, and humidity, are controlled by the passive action of the surrounding hillside and an exposed hole at the back of the cellar that allows moisture to rise from a small cave below.

The cellar contains 300,000 bottles, of which 25,000 are carefully chosen for release each year. The others are frequently tasted, over periods of 24 months to 10–12 years, to monitor the quality, before they are also ready for consumption.

Finally, the tasting. His Tradition and Rosé were clear, well crafted Champagnes, but it’s in his Émeraude, ‘Merci nature’ and Prestige that his methods truly shine through. These Champagnes, low in sulfites, had rich, heady aromas and flavours of peach, pineapple and honey, concentrated, and never tainted by too much oxidation. We were very excited to discover this little hidden gem, and we couldn’t help but bring a few bottles home with us.

Alexander’s love for his work is infectious and helps make his Champagnes even more magical.

Réaut – part one

At dinner with friends recently we tried a very interesting Champagne, which left us keen to learn more about it. The Champagne was from Domaine Réaut, in the nearby village of Courteron. We mentioned how much we liked it and, the following week, our friends organised a tasting.

It was a little hard to find, as it was located in a quarry at the top of the village, that seemed a tad unwelcoming at first. However, Alexander Réaut approached Brian as he got out of the car and things quickly changed. Alexander is a warm and engaging character. He is the son of the current owner, and will be the fifth generation vigneron for Champagne Réaut. As soon as he began to speak we realised he cares deeply about his craft, and is passionate about creating biodynamic wines, something his father first introduced in 1992.

We started our tour by visiting one of his vineyards, high above the village. Standing at the edge of the vineyard he explained that his methods are bio-dynamic, and he asked us first whether we could see the difference between his vineyard and the neighbouring one. The answer was the vineyards were unploughed, with grass and weeds growing between the vines. The first part of his philosophy was not to fight nature, but work with it. The greenery growing in his vineyard was an indicator to him of the soil beneath, allowing him to ‘read’ its healthiness, which he said was very good. To demonstrate this he took a spade and dug some of the soil up. The small handful he took was alive with worms and crawling insects.

He brushed them off and then squeezed the earth in his hand, saying that a healthy soil will clump into a ball, whilst a dead soil will crumble.

Walking away from the vineyard to a clearing in the woods above, he showed us his compost pile that he had created, made from cow and horse manure with the addition of dried hemp. This compost mix was rich, dark and again alive with worms. He folds this into his vineyards once a year, ensuring his soil has life.

He was very passionate and, moved by his clear love for his terroir, we were more excited than ever to try his Champagnes…

Finding my prince

A friend of mine had given me some plants. It’s always so nice, I think, when you can share plants from your garden. They feel special.

I was keen to get them in the ground, as it’s ideal growing conditions – warm days with lots of humidity, and the soil is damp and full of worms doing their stuff. We chose the positions for them, and soon they were happy in their new home. Can’t wait to see them develop.

Even though it’s way too chilly to be using the pool, Brian still needs to keep it clean and check the chemical levels. When he was up there earlier he rescued a rather ugly little frog, who’d managed to find a way in. It’s not really a good environment for frogs, so Brian fished him out. Hopefully he’ll hop off and find somewhere a little more comfortable to live.

We do still have quite a bit of work to do in the garden before winter, but the bright autumn days make being outside delightful.

It’s in the planning

It’s raining today, a low haze of cloud and very misty rain. Brian is busy planning a few projects. He’s found a product he wants to use on the back wall in the cellar, to help minimise some of the water ingress from the slope which oozes through the brickwork. The wet weather has created some high humidity in there, which he’s looking to reduce. We will hopefully be able to share more on that over the coming weeks.

He is also planning to build me a shed up on the slope. I’m not quite sure when this will happen, hopefully springtime, but he does want to get it planned. This is the start of his thoughts, it often develops quite a lot from his early drawings, but it’s nice to start to capture his thoughts, challenges and ideas.

One of our more pressing projects, now our B&B season is coming to an end, is to finish off the library. We are both really excited to start work on that again. So we shall hopefully be able to share more on this over the coming weeks.

Autumn dancers

With the warm autumn sunshine we are still enjoying seeing a variety of butterflies in the meadow part of the garden. We will need to get it cut over the next couple of weeks, before the weather changes, but for now it’s still nice to see the brightly coloured wings as they dance across the grass.

We have also seen some darling little light blue butterflies, which are smaller than any of the other varieties we see, and a bit too quick to photograph. However, this golden one, although we rarely see it, was a little slower in fluttering about.

Just delightful.