chUK's blog: Day 3: Je peux comprendre un peu de français & a pallet of Strawberries

George Clooney / Coffee / Strawberries / Cheese / Anchovies / Caneles / Macaroons / Foie Gras

We began our first day in France being utterly amused by the fanciest coffee machine ever. Apparently marketed heavily by George Clooney as we saw later in Bordeaux (below).

Fanciest coffee machine, with a guided handbook. No joke. Next photo.

http://www.nespresso.com/

Charles in the kitchen area

After breakfast we ventured out to the weekly market in Le Bouscat (Suburb of Bordeaux)

During the 3 weeks I spent with them in 1999, I may have had a bit of an addiction to French strawberries. I may have eaten a huge bowl of them every night. Benedicte might have remembered this very clearly.

Yes - this whole pallet of strawberries went home with us. And I did a darn good job taking care of them. With some help.

French strawberries just don't compare to ones back home. Closest are fresh picked strawberries. The reds are so red. So juicy. Amazing.

Next up we spent about 45 minutes with this wonderful cheese man, tasting and buying. He makes a point of having Cheese from the Basque region in France. Basque is a region that straddles parts of north central Spain and south-western France, along the Pyrenees. People from the Basque rarely claim allegience to France or Spain. They are Basque.

Hey PE folks. First photo for you. Just sharing.

After the market we returned for a mid-day feast of marinated anchovies and vegetables.

For an appetizer (as if we needed one) - shrimp! Including some we'd never had before. Little grey shrimps.

I know we tend to look down on box wines. But over there, they've figured it out. This was a fabulous rose from Tavel, southern Rhone wine region. All of the wines from Tavel are Rose with a minimum alcohol content of 11%. I have to be honest I don't know if I've ever seen this in the US.

Lunch

Cheese. Over there it's different. I think the deal is it's not pasteurized in the same way. Either way - this Camembert is excellent. Tangy. Visually you could compare it to Brie, but it has a stronger flavor.