Strawberries and Walnuts

8^th May 2012

Strawberries and Walnuts

Today was another holiday in France, in recognition of the end of the Second World War, and  a memorial ceremony was held in Square of Souvenir.

Our day started with a walk around town, with a stop for coffee at a Café.

We had reservations for 12:30PM at a restaurant in the small hamlet of Nabirat and on our way we took a scenic drive to the Notre Dame Chapel des Neiges with the water mill. The Church was built in 1652.

We arrived in Nabirat at Le Diabolo-Fraise, which is owned and operated by the mother of a waitress, Roxane that serves us frequently at our home Café in Gourdon.

Nabirat is home of the Strawberry Festival and home to the largest strawberry tart. 

It was a magic moment when we were greeted by Roxane and her mother, Catherine and because of the holiday we were told we had the restaurant to ourselves.

Our table when we arrived

Each place setting

We were treated fantastically with aperitifs, a five-course meal, plenty of wine, coffee and digestives.

Everything was made in the restaurant’s kitchen with fresh local products; even the raspberries in the dessert were local even though not in season, had been fresh frozen the previous season.

First course - Tureen of Vegetable Soup

Second Course - Crudite Plate, stuffed artichoke, homemade pate, carrots, tomatoes and avocado, beets, grilled carrots and shrimp, roasted pepper, and smoked ham, etc.

Duck Confit with Potatoes

Cheese Plate

Fl;aky pastry with custard filling and raspberries and strawberry coulis.

Our meals were prepared by an experienced chef, who also is an artist and some of his works hang on the walls of the restaurant.

It was a very enjoyable, magical experience that lasted three hours and we enjoyed the company of our hostesses.

Le Diabolo-Fraise

Le Bourg

24250 Nabirat

05 53 59 36 83

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On our return trip to Gourdon, we took a side road to see the village of Payrignac and while driving around we were again surprised by finding “Les Moulin des Fumades” which is a Walnut Oil Mill and Museum.

This establishment was not open, but the owners were outside and very willingly offered to give us a tour which was very interesting.

We also watched a short video with English subtitles that showed the original state of the mill when they purchased the property approx. 10 years ago, the restoration of the property and the first production of walnut oil when it was finally restored.

The business also operates “Chambres d’ hotes”.

http://www.lemoulindesfumades.com/

A fantastic day with glorious weather and returned home fully satiated.

Prehistoric Walk

Prehistoric Walk

Toured the “Grottes de Cougnac”, prehistoric caves this morning (Monday, 7^th May 2012)

“As much for its geological importance as for its beauty, as much for its beauty as for its testimony of Paleolithic art, Cougnac is one of the most moving caves I know”… by Andre Leroi-Gourhan (excerpt from Les Grottes Magiques).

The caves were discovered in 1949 – 1952.  These caves contain one of the greatest collections of concretions; thousands of stalactites hang from the ceilings and stalagmites are growing from the floor.

In the painted caves ( no picture taking was allowed ) , 302 motifs have been listed and recorded; comprising of 274 signs, 22 animals, 4 human beings, 1 rubbed hand and 1 unidentified motif., many carbon dated to 14/15,000  years ago. These photos are of the walk to the painted caves and the entrance door.

On the drive around the lake we discovered these poppies growing on the roadside.

 

Lunch today was lakeside at “La Table du Marais” in the small village of Grolejac. We sat outside in the sunshine to eat our lunch; John especially enjoyed his “Mexican Hamburger”.

Lots of the Lot

Today, we visited several locations in the Lot Valley and along the Lot River with our Canadian visitors and our new American friend, Melody.

Our first stop was a visit to the market in Prayssac; where a replacement basil plant was found for our herb garden.  

Lunch today was at “Le Caillau” a lovely café/restaurant set amidst a vineyard near Puy-l’Eveque.

They also conduct pottery painting classes, you pick out your piece of pottery i.e. cup, plate, teapot, etc. you paint it and then it is fired in a kiln and is ready for your pickup four days later.

The menu du jour was “Spicy sausage with cold rice salad and tomato salsa, choice of apple crumble with ice cream or cheese plate, glass of wine and coffee”.

The food was delicious and the restaurant’s ambiance was warm and inviting.

www.lecaillau.com

Next stops were a couple of vineyards.

First we visited “Clos La Coutale” where we purchased a very special corkscrew and of course a bottle of their wine.

www.coutale.com

The highlight was our next stop at “Clos Triguedina”, where we had a “degustation” tasting of several wines. This vineyard was featured in a book Graeme read several years ago and in 2007 we purchased a bottle of their Prince Probus Grand Cru 2002, which we subsequently gave as a birthday gift to our friend John in Tillsonburg. We received some interesting information about the vineyard and also met the vigneron, Jean-Luc Baldes, who advised that their wines would be sold in Ontario this year.

www.jlbaldes.com

The stained glass windows depict the making of wine in old days ...and the vineyard is now making a New Black Wine.

Puy-l’Eveque, directly on the Lot River was our next tourist stop; we viewed the old quarter from the far side of the river and then drove through the medieval town to view the river from above.

Our tour continued to the lookout point in Belaye, with panoramic views over the Lot River and the valley below.

After a very interesting drive thru some different roads we arrived in Luzech, another village directly on the Lot River. Here, we enjoyed some cool refreshments sitting in the sunshine at an outdoor café.

We arrived home in Gourdon shortly after 7PM after a busy day in the sunny Lot Valley.