Fete des Fleurs - Flower Festival

Flower Festival

May is a favorite month of mine, it’s the month we honor and celebrate our Mama, Mom, Mommy, Mother dearest whatever name we call our mothers or being a Mother ourselves in Canada, it’s the beginning of the garden planting season, barbecuing, camping and we start thinking about all the outdoor things to do after our winter hibernation and it’s also my birth month.

Mother’s Day in France is the first weekend in June.

This past week on one of the many holidays in France during the month of May, Ascension Day the17^th of May we were entertained at the “Fetes des Fleurs” which was held at the lake in Cazals, a small village southwest of Gourdon.

For a Two-Euro entrance fee, we received a wonderful day of entertainment and shopping.

There was a band from Brittany dressed in traditional Breton costumes and playing and singing their music and songs.

We couldn’t believe the absolutely wonderful display of plants, flowers, bulbs, trees, and shrubs of every kind including many we have never seen before.

If we were staying longer in France or just starting our 3-month adventure now, we may have spent quite a bit of money on plants for our little garden at the Petit Gite; but we restrained ourselves as we only have less than two weeks left.

Our friends, C & B from Prayssac who we spent the day with, came away with many flowers for their garden containers. The trunk of the car was full.

In addition, there were many other vendors with various wares, from outdoor furnishings, soaps, clothing, jewelry, wines, etc.  We bought an apertif wine, which we sampled in our melons for lunch.

There was also a zoo with a variety of animals. 

For the children and parents alike, there were train rides and some of the passengers were Teddy Bears and Rabbits. 

There also was a Disneyland Carousel with the usual characters including Mickey Mouse.

Lively music was playing, there were beer booths actually wine booths if you needed some refreshments; and if you wanted a traditional French lunch you could have eaten a 3-course meal here for 20 Euros wine included.

We passed on this option because we had reservations for a celebratory dinner later this evening at Café La Promenade in Gourdon.

Before dinner, in the late afternoon sunshine the guys made use of the loungers in our little garden.

This was a great choice, this is what we call our “Home” café, as it is just around the corner and we have become friends with the owners and staff over our time here.

Tonight, we celebrated my birthday here and enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared by chef, Franck.

We started with a French aperitif called Kir, a champagne based drink…compliments of the house.

The entrée was a “Tartare de tomates et courgettes”….delicious and light…a marinated tomato and zucchini salad finely chopped and decorated with thinly sliced red onions.

For the main courses, the selection was varied….

The Chef’s suggestion for the fish course was “Salmon stuffed with  "Cepes" a variety of Mushrooms” served with zucchini and rice…this is what I had.

The men chose the Rack of Lamb with Garlic... honey finally got his lamb and was very satisfied with his choice.

Our friend, C chose the “Gambas and St. Jacques Brochette” (Shrimp & Scallop Skewer); which chef Franck always recommends and I can attest to that it is a very delicious dish.

Dessert choices were offered and today’s suggestion was a Strawberry & Chantilly and Pastry dish …which I chose.

Much to my surprise it was presented at the table with a candle and the waitresses, Jenn & Roxane singing “Happy Birthday”  and others joining in  - singing and clapping. 

We then moved from the dining room to the bar area for an after dinner digestive…the men declined but my friend, C and I indulged in a Cointreau on the Rocks.

Thank you Jean- Jacques, Pascale, chef Franck and Jenny and Roxane for making this a special evening that I will always remember.

Thank you C & B for a great day!

If  you are ever in Gourdon you should try this  Hotel- Restaurant-Bar

http://www.lapromenadegourdon.fr/

House Umbrellas

In view of all the rain we've experienced in the Lot Valley during the month of April, I thought I would do a story about this French architectural feature.

Door Overhang or what are they called?
These "house umbrellas" protect their doors from the elements; just as umbrellas they protect us from the sun, rain and wind.

The doors of French homes are protected from the elements by some very attractive overhangs, which are called "auvents"in French ....English translation "awnings".

Here a few older examples of this architectural feature.

Loose Ends!

“At Loose Ends in the Medieval Town of Gourdon”.

It's Saturday and our visitors are enjoying their last few days in Paris and hopefully having the time of their life. ( Pictures and stories to follow ).

Saturday in Gourdon is you guessed it…market day and we did our usual shopping this morning for vegetables, fruits, farm fresh eggs and we also purchased some goat cheese discs to try in a salad this week.

Today, instead of going to the boulangerie (bakery) we bought some bread from a stll holder at the Market and it was delicious!

Honey said “Remember we are back to hiking to the supermarkets so the more we can get here the better, especially since the weather has changed”.

We’ve been experiencing temperatures in the high 20s and low 30s, sunshine and humidity…no complaints but it makes the walking more challenging, especially with heavy bags of groceries.

Today is also practice day for the Spanish Grand Prix; and this is on Honey’s agenda for the afternoon. 

So, I’m at loose ends.

There are household chores to do, laundry, cleaning, etc. and I need to do some work on my French lessons, but it’s the weekend and I’ll do those things on Monday.

After the Grand Prix trials were finished, we walked to the closest grocery store.

Here we ran into our friend, Melody’s french boyfriend Julian, (who also is a friend) who is so helpful and he even offered to provide personal home delivery via his motor cycle to bring our heavier things home anytime…plus he asked us if we wanted a grocery cart for the balance of our time in Gourdon; we gracefully declined.

But on the walk home, we chuckled that I could have pushed Graeme up the hills in the cart or vice versa. Can you picture it?

After our supper this evening, we visited our local café to catch up with what was going on in the rest of the world, mainly looking for news from the kids and family.

Sunday, 13^th May 2012

The day started with the sun shining brightly through the dormer windows in our bedroom…did some laundry, preparation for our supper this evening and then a route march.

We walked at a steady pace for an hour and half in the outskirts and countryside of Gourdon; some areas we hadn’t discovered before.

It’s the time of the year for the wild poppies, they just pop up anywhere and they are absolutely beautiful.

We also discovered some of the allotments, large plots of land divided into smaller parcels of gardens for the people who have no garden with their home.

And of course a couple of grand old gates…. watch for another post just on gates.

Then home for the Formula 1 - Spanish Grand Prix race….and a surprise knock on the cottage door…it was one of the local Florists, she had been trying to deliver flowers to me, twice on Saturday and finally she caught me home on Sunday.

What a wonderful and beautiful surprise for Mother’s Day & Birthday …thank you again!!!

 

After Honey’s man (Lewis Hamilton) did well in the race (started last, finished 7^th), we went for another walk this time in a different direction, first the main boulevard in town and then two levels lower behind the Cordeliers, and the route to the Notre Dame Chapel, where we saw the Clos des Capucins (we believe is a Monk’s retreat/retirement home).

Another hour and half of walking finished our weekend!