Social whirl…

We’ve been busy since we arrived, that’s for sure. Dinner at a petit bistro here in town, Cocotte & Co, with friends Anna & Thierry, Julian & Charlotte, on the night we arrived, was a wonderfully warm welcome back and we had lovely night.
We’ve since eaten there again, with Scottish friends, Hazel & Iain, who are always fabulous company. Caro, the owner and chef, is really friendly, not to mention, a great cook, so our meals there never fail to impress. Hazel is very diligent in her quest to teach me how to say Our Willie (a famous comic character in Scotland) with a Scottish accent ( Oor Wullie). So far, no success at all, I’m afraid. We end up with tears of laughter rolling down our faces instead, so I’ll just stick to French, I think…

Our friend, Sylviane, invited us to her birthday celebrations, which was very special to us. We had a really enjoyable afternoon at her home, drinking champagne and coffee, while munching on slices of Gâteau Saint Honoré, which was really delicious. Made predominantly with puff pastry and cream, there were of course, absolutely no worries at all, about over indulging in calories ( 😉)

Four hours of speaking French and trying to translate the several conversations going on around me, was definitely a big challenge, but I understood a lot more of what was being discussed than I had thought I might, so while I left very tired, I was also elated. It was a lovely afternoon, in great company.

Apéritifs and dinner at Josiane and Claude’s, along with their neighbours, Sandra and Ben, was ‘génial’. We talked and laughed all night and no-one wanted to leave, it was one of those fantastic nights that just happen. Josiane and Claude are very dear friends, rare people indeed. It was a very fortunate day for us when we met them, back in 2017.

Anna and Thierry invited us for a dinner, with Raclette on the menu. We’d first tried Raclette back in December, at their house, and know it is simply delicious, so of course were very happy to have it again. But mainly we were looking forward to having a great night in their company. They are such a lovely couple, with a wonderful family and we really enjoy their friendship.

When our friends Aymen and Lesley stayed with us for a week, Bill and Tilly invited us all for dinner. Bill loves to cook and absolutely outdid  himself, in our opinion, with slow cooked Greek lamb and vegetables, with baked clementine crumble, and cream for dessert. Just as well we walked there and back!
We’ve returned the favour, with Masamam curry on the menu. I can’t lay claim to baking a dessert though, a quick sortie to thé pâtisserie resulted in a lovely ‘tarte de framboise’ being served up at our place. Both were fab nights in the company of another wonderful couple, who have made us feel very welcome.

We’ve had coffee with friends at all the cafe’s in town too, which we love to do. All are only a short walk away, so it makes a very simple affair to arrange either a quick catchup, or a more leisurely caffeine and conversation fix. Each cafe has their own ambiance and personality, so we like to share the love (so to speak! 💓)

It may seem as if we have just been lurching from one food fest to another, but in amongst it all, we’ve also done a lot of walking, gardening, some little improvements to the house and, of course, some day trips to pastures new. We’ve even been very cultural and went to the theatre. All in French, the Omnibus Café was very funny and extremely well acted, so we’ll keep our eyes peeled now for any more productions by the same theatre group, as we’d really like to go again

There’s been lots of laughing, lots of talking, lots of food and wine and lots of French.
All in all, it’s been a very balanced diet, you might say… 😃

À bientôt