It is coming up to four months abroad on December 1, the time has really flown by! It will be five months in total that we will have been away from Vancouver. Today I went grocery shopping with the family we are staying with and it made me laugh when I was sent on a mission to find some items and I knew exactly where to go and what products would be awaiting me. I guess that is the biggest thing Ive noticed about adjusting to life abroad...the everyday stores that used to be foreign and unknown are becoming common. Instead of thinking, 'Oh, we will stop by at Save-On-Foods and buy some milk', I am now automatically thinking, 'Oh, we will stop by at Intermarche and grab some milk'. I also find myself craving products on the shelves here and even recognizing brands I perfer and dislike. Surprisingly enough I've even found boulangerie chains I do not like or others that I do...it's a really neat feeling transitioning from a tourist to a temporary resident of a foreign country.
I still am finding that I have everything that I could possibly need in my backpack and I recently even sent some clothing back home. It's so liberating having absolutely nothing! All I really need is a camera, some paper and pen and a couple pieces of clothing. It's funny because as I'm writing this paragraph I'm looking around the room to see if there are some other important things Ive packed...but quite honestly there really isn't! One thing I will be honest about though, is how nice it is to have a piece of technology with you; whether that's a tablet, IPad or laptop. Having one will allow you to cut down on space used for books, games, dictionaries ect. and allow you to have it all in one unit. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy having some technology with me, because I do. It allows me to have entertainment, keep in touch with family and friends, have access to translators and keep me up-to-date with news back home. Being a completely honest traveller...I'd recommend having some form of technology with you when you travel for long periods of time.
Our French is improving greatly day by day, and we are at the level where we now can slowly communicate pretty much whatever we need to in some form or another. Hearing people speak is still very difficult as the speed is very fast. Listening to the radio helps alot and listening to the language being spoken at the dinner table has been great as well. We can definitely understand more than when we first arrived. The best part for me at this point with learning a new language, is that now it does not sound like one long word like it did in the beginning. I now can pick out each individual word and understand a great majority of them...the next step is to keep pace and piece together the words fast enough. I really look forward to the day when it 'clicks' and my brain can keep up with the pace!
My favourite items I have with me at the moment are random items I've collected over the past four months such as a peacock feather and an Italian peculator! Very odd (and impractical) items to have as a backpacker, but these are the things I've collected or have had given to me and I cherish the most. I even picked up a set of copper pots at a flea market in Liseaux the other weekend! They are gorgeous pots with old handles and embossed 'made in France' prints and although they will be painful to move around...I love them and I feel it's worth it! Along with the peacock feather, pots and peculator, you can also find in my bag; artisan leather work boots, an apron given to me as a gift, a wool dress jacket (from a fashion show), collection of recipes and even bread levain (starter)! I laugh when I look at these odd items I've collected and I'm so happy to know I will have them for years to come giving me the best thing of all...memories.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Life in Normandy...Cakes, Burgers, Pots and Fashion!
We have been in Auquainville, Normandy for the past month with a family in a beautiful restored 200 year old Manor. Auquainville is very small and many locals in the area do not even know where this small village is. It's located 10 minutes away from Liseaux, so it is not very far from where we stayed last at Boulangerie Les CoPains. I cannot say enough nice things about this family...they are some of the nicest people I have met. So welcoming, funny and helpful and really have made us feel at home here in France. Our original plan was to stay 3 weeks before moving on to another Wwoofing location, but we decided against leaving because we love it here so much and also because they have been helping me enormously with my CV (french resume) and cover letter, which I may add is a very hard task to finish in proper french on your own. It appears many jobs in patisseries are being filled now for the Christmas rush, so I've decided to remain here and focus on job-hunting where I can get help and have a flexible schedule in case of a last minute interview.
(our room)
I am very nervous to have a French interview as I fear I will not be able to understand what is being said to me. I am actually quite confident with answering the questions as the family has been training with me, as long as I can hear what the question is. It is intimidating and something I never thought I would be doing 4 months ago when I first started learning french, but when you have goals and dreams you cannot let anything get in the way.
My fiance and I have been working hard here in the yard and kitchen...you could say we have developed a personal attachment to the yard. With both having jobs, the large yard had become overgrown with vegetation and hedges had turned into trees. Seeing the potential, we have been putting 110% into our daily work and trying our best to reclaim this beautiful yard. The family have been thrilled with our work and amazed at our willingness to work so hard. There has been many times they have told us "you can stop now, it's been 5 hours", but we both always want to continue on and keep working. My opinion is, why stop working at 1 o'clock in the afternoon? Honestly, what else are you really going to go do? I guess you could call us slight workaholics, but when you can see how happy people are from what you are doing...you really want to keep going.
Entire trees have been cut down, hedges topped and wood sheds built, and our latest project was taking back the garden. Nestled in the back of the property behind old stables and hedges is a beautiful garden stretching back to vine covered walls. The entire garden was grown over with 2 meter high bushes when we first arrived and behind that was what they referred to as "The Jungle"! An area so overgrown with brambles and trees you couldn't even take three steps inside. We could sense the pure frustration in the wife's voice when she showed us what had become of her garden since life got in the way. In the last week of our planned stay, my fiance and I tackled the garden and successfully removed all the invasive plants and trees and he even surprised her with being able to rota till the soil!
It made us so happy to see the relief in her eyes when she realized she could use the garden again finally. It was actually very exciting to reclaim the land and dig up cement edging and pathways that were previously buried, and to see it return to its original state. After completion of the garden, we both knew what was our next task. Although there was no mention to us to attack the jungle...we knew it had to happen because otherwise it would remain there and infuriate her every time she worked in her garden. All I can describe about that day the jungle came down, was my fiance was like the Chainsaw Massacre to those brambles! Within two days we had every last weed, tree and branch out and it resembled part of the yard again. Brambles have become over the past few months one of my worst enemies, because if you have never encountered them before...they are sharp, they stick to you with every step you take, and they take over absolutely everything! I fear one day they will take over the world...seriously!
Aside from the yard work, I have been making many pastries and breads in the kitchen, which is always received with smiles here. It made me smile when I asked the 12 year old daughter what her favourite pastry was...and she answered "All of the pastries you make". Coming here to France I felt very intimidated to bake as a North American. I felt that people of France would look down upon my style because well....it's France! Surprisingly, I have had nothing but positive feedback and everyone genuinely loves my pastries! The specialty that appears to be most popular with everyone here is the carrot cake I make with cream cheese icing! I have been requested to make it a number of times now and I laugh every time...who would of thought? I have a very funny memory of making carrot cake here in France...Shortly after our arrival in Auquainville, we were invited to a friends house with the wife and after a nice visit and tea the topic came up, "What do you make back in Canada?" I told them that I make many traditional pastries that are in France, pies and carrot cake. The look on both the women's faces was priceless, pure excitement. The friend asked loudly, "With Philadelphia?" I started laughing and nodding my head. Within seconds there was a bag of fresh walnuts in front of me and it was officially arranged...I was to make carrot cake TONIGHT! Then the friend dove into the cupboard and grabbed out a familiar yellow container of baking powder, brought back from Canada (there is no baking powder/soda readily available here, although I've heard soda can be tracked down if you search for it). It was if I was going to bake them gold, their faces were glowing with excitement. When we got back home, I walked into the kitchen and tried to get myself acquainted with the foreign kitchen. To my horror I quickly discovered that there were NO ingredients for this cake! My first experience baking for an actual French family and I had nothing to bake with! There was no brown sugar, baking SODA, allspice, crushed pineapple, measuring cups, measuring spoons and no scale! ( I later in the week discovered a scale hidden in the cupboard). Slightly flustered I went into work mode and thought to myself..'What can I improvise with?'. Needless to say, the cake turned out surprisingly great with some alterations and everyone absolutely loved it!
Since then, I have made carrot cake a number of times and people have actually gotten into arguments over the last piece. Once again, who would of thought? I also made an assortment of pastries for a fashion show for a wonderful designer named Valerie Bacquet. Everyone loved my pastries and at the end I was actually given a standing ovation and Valerie gave me a beautiful apron from her collection. I felt very good that evening, and I must say, baking for people that I was so intimidated by has really given me confidence that I can use in my career ahead.
Getting off the topic of food and coming back to the designer Valerie Bacquet, I was lucky enough to be introduced to this fantastic woman. Her brand is called Modelunik, and is absolutely fabulous! I was invited over to her home multiple times where she served us champagne and showed us her collection...perfect evenings! I fell in love with one particular wool jacket in her collection but aware of my tight travel budget I had to sadly hang it back on the rack. A few days later I was surprised by my family when they pitched in money, so I could purchase the jacket! I was so happy and thankful from their generosity and now I have that gorgeous jacket hanging beside me as I write.
Along with acquiring a jacket, I have also recently acquired a set of copper pots! Yes, I know it's crazy but I could not say no when I seen the old set of pots at the massive garage sale in Liseaux last weekend for only 30 Euros!!! I have been wanting a set for so long and I am so thrilled to have a very authentic French set now...even if it is heavy to carry. Certain things are worth the extra effort to carry around...like my Italian coffee peculator from the Pyrenees and my peacock feather. You really do start to collect odd things after travelling for so long.
Another memory from this month that makes me laugh is the Canadian style hamburgers we made for the family. They wanted us to make a Canadian meal for them, and we had a hard time deciding on something that was 'Canadian' as most of our cuisine is international. Jokingly, I mentioned 'hamburgers' and everyone cheered and said we had to make them! I felt silly making hamburgers as North Americans because how much more of a stereo type is there? My fiance agreed he would prepare the meal and even use the fire outside to cook them. When he started mixing in handfuls of ingredients into the beef and shaping the patties they watched in amazement. That night everyone was praising him at the dinner table. They told us they had never had a hamburger that tasted like this and the husband (who is a manager at the Ritz Paris Hotel) even told him, 'You need to show our chef how to make a hamburger like this!' I laughed so hard after the Hamburger night, and it was requested again the following weekend.
We are loving our time in France very much and I have been enjoying meeting so many new people and having new experiences everyday. I am a more open person now, and I also feel more confident in my abilities. Travelling is helping my fiance and I both become more sociable and outgoing...qualities I hope to bring home to Canada. It has been so fun to watch people enjoy such North American traditions and have such positive feedback.
(Simba and I-My helper)
I am very nervous to have a French interview as I fear I will not be able to understand what is being said to me. I am actually quite confident with answering the questions as the family has been training with me, as long as I can hear what the question is. It is intimidating and something I never thought I would be doing 4 months ago when I first started learning french, but when you have goals and dreams you cannot let anything get in the way.
My fiance and I have been working hard here in the yard and kitchen...you could say we have developed a personal attachment to the yard. With both having jobs, the large yard had become overgrown with vegetation and hedges had turned into trees. Seeing the potential, we have been putting 110% into our daily work and trying our best to reclaim this beautiful yard. The family have been thrilled with our work and amazed at our willingness to work so hard. There has been many times they have told us "you can stop now, it's been 5 hours", but we both always want to continue on and keep working. My opinion is, why stop working at 1 o'clock in the afternoon? Honestly, what else are you really going to go do? I guess you could call us slight workaholics, but when you can see how happy people are from what you are doing...you really want to keep going.
Entire trees have been cut down, hedges topped and wood sheds built, and our latest project was taking back the garden. Nestled in the back of the property behind old stables and hedges is a beautiful garden stretching back to vine covered walls. The entire garden was grown over with 2 meter high bushes when we first arrived and behind that was what they referred to as "The Jungle"! An area so overgrown with brambles and trees you couldn't even take three steps inside. We could sense the pure frustration in the wife's voice when she showed us what had become of her garden since life got in the way. In the last week of our planned stay, my fiance and I tackled the garden and successfully removed all the invasive plants and trees and he even surprised her with being able to rota till the soil!
It made us so happy to see the relief in her eyes when she realized she could use the garden again finally. It was actually very exciting to reclaim the land and dig up cement edging and pathways that were previously buried, and to see it return to its original state. After completion of the garden, we both knew what was our next task. Although there was no mention to us to attack the jungle...we knew it had to happen because otherwise it would remain there and infuriate her every time she worked in her garden. All I can describe about that day the jungle came down, was my fiance was like the Chainsaw Massacre to those brambles! Within two days we had every last weed, tree and branch out and it resembled part of the yard again. Brambles have become over the past few months one of my worst enemies, because if you have never encountered them before...they are sharp, they stick to you with every step you take, and they take over absolutely everything! I fear one day they will take over the world...seriously!
Aside from the yard work, I have been making many pastries and breads in the kitchen, which is always received with smiles here. It made me smile when I asked the 12 year old daughter what her favourite pastry was...and she answered "All of the pastries you make". Coming here to France I felt very intimidated to bake as a North American. I felt that people of France would look down upon my style because well....it's France! Surprisingly, I have had nothing but positive feedback and everyone genuinely loves my pastries! The specialty that appears to be most popular with everyone here is the carrot cake I make with cream cheese icing! I have been requested to make it a number of times now and I laugh every time...who would of thought? I have a very funny memory of making carrot cake here in France...Shortly after our arrival in Auquainville, we were invited to a friends house with the wife and after a nice visit and tea the topic came up, "What do you make back in Canada?" I told them that I make many traditional pastries that are in France, pies and carrot cake. The look on both the women's faces was priceless, pure excitement. The friend asked loudly, "With Philadelphia?" I started laughing and nodding my head. Within seconds there was a bag of fresh walnuts in front of me and it was officially arranged...I was to make carrot cake TONIGHT! Then the friend dove into the cupboard and grabbed out a familiar yellow container of baking powder, brought back from Canada (there is no baking powder/soda readily available here, although I've heard soda can be tracked down if you search for it). It was if I was going to bake them gold, their faces were glowing with excitement. When we got back home, I walked into the kitchen and tried to get myself acquainted with the foreign kitchen. To my horror I quickly discovered that there were NO ingredients for this cake! My first experience baking for an actual French family and I had nothing to bake with! There was no brown sugar, baking SODA, allspice, crushed pineapple, measuring cups, measuring spoons and no scale! ( I later in the week discovered a scale hidden in the cupboard). Slightly flustered I went into work mode and thought to myself..'What can I improvise with?'. Needless to say, the cake turned out surprisingly great with some alterations and everyone absolutely loved it!
Since then, I have made carrot cake a number of times and people have actually gotten into arguments over the last piece. Once again, who would of thought? I also made an assortment of pastries for a fashion show for a wonderful designer named Valerie Bacquet. Everyone loved my pastries and at the end I was actually given a standing ovation and Valerie gave me a beautiful apron from her collection. I felt very good that evening, and I must say, baking for people that I was so intimidated by has really given me confidence that I can use in my career ahead.
Getting off the topic of food and coming back to the designer Valerie Bacquet, I was lucky enough to be introduced to this fantastic woman. Her brand is called Modelunik, and is absolutely fabulous! I was invited over to her home multiple times where she served us champagne and showed us her collection...perfect evenings! I fell in love with one particular wool jacket in her collection but aware of my tight travel budget I had to sadly hang it back on the rack. A few days later I was surprised by my family when they pitched in money, so I could purchase the jacket! I was so happy and thankful from their generosity and now I have that gorgeous jacket hanging beside me as I write.
Along with acquiring a jacket, I have also recently acquired a set of copper pots! Yes, I know it's crazy but I could not say no when I seen the old set of pots at the massive garage sale in Liseaux last weekend for only 30 Euros!!! I have been wanting a set for so long and I am so thrilled to have a very authentic French set now...even if it is heavy to carry. Certain things are worth the extra effort to carry around...like my Italian coffee peculator from the Pyrenees and my peacock feather. You really do start to collect odd things after travelling for so long.
Another memory from this month that makes me laugh is the Canadian style hamburgers we made for the family. They wanted us to make a Canadian meal for them, and we had a hard time deciding on something that was 'Canadian' as most of our cuisine is international. Jokingly, I mentioned 'hamburgers' and everyone cheered and said we had to make them! I felt silly making hamburgers as North Americans because how much more of a stereo type is there? My fiance agreed he would prepare the meal and even use the fire outside to cook them. When he started mixing in handfuls of ingredients into the beef and shaping the patties they watched in amazement. That night everyone was praising him at the dinner table. They told us they had never had a hamburger that tasted like this and the husband (who is a manager at the Ritz Paris Hotel) even told him, 'You need to show our chef how to make a hamburger like this!' I laughed so hard after the Hamburger night, and it was requested again the following weekend.
We are loving our time in France very much and I have been enjoying meeting so many new people and having new experiences everyday. I am a more open person now, and I also feel more confident in my abilities. Travelling is helping my fiance and I both become more sociable and outgoing...qualities I hope to bring home to Canada. It has been so fun to watch people enjoy such North American traditions and have such positive feedback.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
The Grocery Stores of France...
Food has always been a very important part of my life whether it's food at home or eating out. Grocery shopping was always a favourite day for me because I loved wandering through the isles of food discovering new ideas. This is why whenever I travel I tend to visit the grocery stores. For most a trip to the supermarket during holidays seems unthinkable but if you really want to get a feel for a new place the grocery store is where to find it. Here you will see actual local people going about their day and if you peek into their carts you can even see what local people eat rather than what is portrayed in Americanized restaurants. Here you can observe how people interact with one another and the similarities and differences of how children behave while shopping with their mother. It's fun to watch what treats the child in the cart will reach for in a foreign country...sometimes the same as back home...sometimes different. Aside from people watching, wandering through the isles and seeing the different products is exciting on its own!
Here in France, we have visited many grocery stores as we do most of our eating at hostels because eating out daily is the number one activity to break your budget. There are different styles of grocery stores here...
So that is my small rundown on where to buy food in France. There is of course many more supermarkets in France that I haven't listed but these are the common stores you will find everywhere. There has been so many new products I've become attached to over the past three months such as Lion Cereal (chocolate caramel flavour), Papillon Roquefort cheese, Smarties yogurt snack, and baguette.
The milk is sold differently here as well and it took us quite awhile to figure out how exactly it works. Instead of all the milk being in coolers, the milk is sold in plastic bottles and on the dry shelf! It turns out the majority of the milk is UHT treated (Ultra High Temperature) so it can sit on the shelf for months! You can find some milk sold in the cooler but it is sparse and much more expensive. I actually really love the UHT milk as I find it has a sweet taste to it and the price is great ( 0.55 cents/liter). Also, speaking of great prices...as you'd imagine being in France there is a fantastic selection of wine in every store...sometimes taking up much of the store. You can purchase a decent bottle of wine for as low as $3.00! Cheese is also plentiful and affordable with wheels of Camembert costing between $3-$6.00. I will most definitely be writing another blog about the wines and cheeses I have tasted here in France and other local specialties but for now I hope this blog has perhaps encouraged you to take a tour of the local grocery store next time you travel.
Here in France, we have visited many grocery stores as we do most of our eating at hostels because eating out daily is the number one activity to break your budget. There are different styles of grocery stores here...
- Petite Supermarche- Usually contains the minimal products such as cereal, milk, fruit and of course cheese. Not somewhere you would want to do a complete shopping trip at. More of a 'You forgot eggs' type of market. Most common name is Petite Casino.
- City Supermarche- Urban grocery stores located in the core of the city offering everything you could need from produce to meat. For days that you want to have a picnic or an easy dinner they offer many pre-made salads. My favourite is the crab and pasta salad! The common stores you find are Carrefour City.
- Supermarche- Regular sized markets that offer everything with reasonable prices. Expect to find around three isles dedicated to wine! Common products back home that are not easily found here (perhaps in specialty shops) includes Cheddar cheese, ketchup, brown sugar, baking soda/powder and out of season produce. Common stores are Carrefour, Casino, and Monoprix. My personal favourite is Carrefour as the produce is always fresh and there is great selection.
- Hypermarche- These are surprisingly found everywhere in France and are very popular for convenience and cost. They are usually located on the outskirts of the city due to the large size. Here you will find everything from food, clothing, housewares and electronics. Surprisingly the meat and fish departments are excellent with some even having awards! Unfortunately, here you will find out of season produce imported from Spain and Africa. I say unfortunately because I really admire how many French people and restaurants try to stay seasonal and accept the fact that strawberries are not available in December. Common stores are Intermarche and E.Leclerc. I like shopping at Intermarche because the produce is fresh and the meat and seafood is great. I do not like to shop at E.Leclerc because I find these stores to be huge, expansive buildings with poor quality and consistently bad produce.
- Markets- My favourite place to shop of course with local vendors offering beautiful produce, cut to order meat and seafood, nuts and delicious cheeses. Markets are only held usually once a week in both small villages and cities and is a highlight for each community. There is nothing better than admiring the healthy produce on a Sunday afternoon or eating samples of cheese from an old French man in suspenders.
So that is my small rundown on where to buy food in France. There is of course many more supermarkets in France that I haven't listed but these are the common stores you will find everywhere. There has been so many new products I've become attached to over the past three months such as Lion Cereal (chocolate caramel flavour), Papillon Roquefort cheese, Smarties yogurt snack, and baguette.
The milk is sold differently here as well and it took us quite awhile to figure out how exactly it works. Instead of all the milk being in coolers, the milk is sold in plastic bottles and on the dry shelf! It turns out the majority of the milk is UHT treated (Ultra High Temperature) so it can sit on the shelf for months! You can find some milk sold in the cooler but it is sparse and much more expensive. I actually really love the UHT milk as I find it has a sweet taste to it and the price is great ( 0.55 cents/liter). Also, speaking of great prices...as you'd imagine being in France there is a fantastic selection of wine in every store...sometimes taking up much of the store. You can purchase a decent bottle of wine for as low as $3.00! Cheese is also plentiful and affordable with wheels of Camembert costing between $3-$6.00. I will most definitely be writing another blog about the wines and cheeses I have tasted here in France and other local specialties but for now I hope this blog has perhaps encouraged you to take a tour of the local grocery store next time you travel.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Boulangerie Les CoPains
Our past 10 days at Boulangerie Les CoPains have been fantastic! When I initially booked here with the bakery I hoped that I would learn a few things about bread and maybe even get to knead a dough. My expectations were surpassed as we were involved 100% in the bread making process from start to finish. I really loved that about this bakery, they allowed us to knead, shape and even put bread into the oven and if a baguette came out crooked...they would laugh and call it the artistic piece of the day. I never felt pressured here, or felt nervous to mess something up because of the calm nature here at Boulangerie Les CoPains.
This is quite a different atmosphere in comparison to most kitchens where perfection is the goal and owners are more cautious of letting amateur bakers have a try at products being sold to the public. Eric, Manu, Thierry and Seth were all great teachers, all with very different personalities. Eric was very fun-spirited and would most of the time be dancing or singing where Seth was very precise and quiet. We learned so much about kneading techniques and shaping from everyone, and I think our bread actually turned out quite well. The concept of baking here if very different from any other bakery because if you ask what the recipe is...the answer is 'enough'. That's right, there is no measuring of ingredients or dough temperatures here! Flour is piled into the kneading troughs then 'enough' water is added to make the correct consistency. I was amazed when I first seen this, after making bread at home using exact temperature calculations and amounts. Hearing this you would probably wonder if the bread is consistent or if it even tastes good and the answer is yes. The bread was always consistent and tasted exactly like it would with measurements and calculations. This technique really allowed the bakers to have a feel for the bread rather than just adding in the written measurements. It forces them to use ingredients according to the day and time of the year and have a strong connection with the dough.
+338.JPG)
We stayed in a flat above the bakery with one of the bakers, Seth, along with a dog named Baboosh and Houdini the cat.
The warmth of the wood fired oven would be so pleasant in the early mornings along with the smell of bread in the afternoon filling our room. Unlike our last Wwoofing location where meals were prepared for us, we were given money to buy our own food from the local markets to allow us to try different foods that interested us. This worked out great because Seth was so knowledgeable about the local produce and would always have good recommendation for cheeses and vegetables to try. One of my favourite vegetables we tried was an orange squash that is plentiful in this region this time of year. It had a rich, sweet flavour that paired wonderfully with a square of butter.
Seth also taught us so much about the local varieties of cheeses and even purchased samples for us to try with his own money! It was so nice to be around someone who was knowledgeable about the local area and local products as that is what I love to learn about each place we go. Originally with a background in science and Engineering Seth was naturally very scientific about the bread and was able to answer all of my questions regarding why bread reacts in certain ways and how to make changes.
Aside from baking bread, there were lots of other experiences we had such as picking apples in the afternoon, participating in bongo drum lessons with Eric, cider farm tours and goat cheese farms! I laughed when Eric first told me he gave drum lessons because it has been something I've wanted to do for a long time and at a bakery was the last place I thought I would have the opportunity to do so! The lesson was very fun especially with Eric dancing and singing while we all tried to keep rhythm. We were very lucky to also have the opportunity to visit a friend of the bakeries' Cider and Calvados farm. Seth gave us a great tour through the old building filled with barrels of aging cider, calvados and a regional specialty called Pommeau.
The Calvados is aged 5,10 and 15 years and definityl has a bite to it! The cider is aged a minimum of 16 months, although their cider was nearly 6 years old. My personal favourite was the Pommeau. It is a mix of Calvados and apple juice aged in barrels that has a fantastic creamy taste with strong apple notes. It is only made and sold in this particular region making it an even more special drink that I'm happy to of been able to sample. Processing the apples for ciders and calvados was very back-breaking work in the past and up until 4 years ago this particular farm was still picking all the apples by hand and carrying apple sacs up the stairs on their backs. One man we met in his early sixties at the farm had a cane and a hunched back...evidence of years of hard work on the apple orchards. We had a sampling at the end of our tour of the 5,10 and 15 year old Calvados, the cider and Pommeau. Personally the Calvados was too strong for me, especially the 5 year old bottle, but I appreciate the flavour it had and could see how people do enjoy it. The cider was great as well and unlike ciders I've had before it was not too sweet but more bitter with a strong apple flavor, I really enjoyed it. Then, like I mentioned before, the Pommeau was my favourite. I think I will be purchasing a bottle before we leave this region to take with us.
The goat farm I already have written about in my last blog, so I won't go into too much detail again. I really appreciated that they arranged for us to have these experiences on other farms, allowing us to see what the region has to offer.
We also went to the markets on several days to sell bread and see the different vendors. Selling bread was a fun experience...especially since our french is very limited. It was really neat to be on the other side of the table selling the products rather than purchasing. I never though I would be selling bread at a market in France!
Getting up early in the morning to bake bread then selling it fresh to people was wonderful, especially seeing how passionate the customers were about eating organic, well-made bread. It was nice to see that many people are still willing to pay the extra money for quality food that they know is prepared properly without additives and machines. The breads made at Boulangerie Les CoPains included complet (whole grain), demi-complet (around 60% or so whole grain), and a variety of breads made with nuts and seeds. They also make a pain au brioche (natural, raison and chocolate chip) as well as sablee cookies, seasonal fruit tarts, pizzas and petite brioches. Everything tasted great (and yes I made sure to sample EVERYTHING) with my favourites being the sablee and petite brioche.
Boulangerie Les CoPains was a special place to visit and unfortunately the ten days went by far too fast. Waking up early and working with dough everyday with fantastic people has inspired me to make more breads when I return to Canada. They showed me that bread isn't scary and you shouldn't be afraid to try new things with dough. I feel more confident to make bread now then when I arrived and I have Boulangerie Les CoPain to thank for that.
This is quite a different atmosphere in comparison to most kitchens where perfection is the goal and owners are more cautious of letting amateur bakers have a try at products being sold to the public. Eric, Manu, Thierry and Seth were all great teachers, all with very different personalities. Eric was very fun-spirited and would most of the time be dancing or singing where Seth was very precise and quiet. We learned so much about kneading techniques and shaping from everyone, and I think our bread actually turned out quite well. The concept of baking here if very different from any other bakery because if you ask what the recipe is...the answer is 'enough'. That's right, there is no measuring of ingredients or dough temperatures here! Flour is piled into the kneading troughs then 'enough' water is added to make the correct consistency. I was amazed when I first seen this, after making bread at home using exact temperature calculations and amounts. Hearing this you would probably wonder if the bread is consistent or if it even tastes good and the answer is yes. The bread was always consistent and tasted exactly like it would with measurements and calculations. This technique really allowed the bakers to have a feel for the bread rather than just adding in the written measurements. It forces them to use ingredients according to the day and time of the year and have a strong connection with the dough.
+338.JPG)
We stayed in a flat above the bakery with one of the bakers, Seth, along with a dog named Baboosh and Houdini the cat.
The warmth of the wood fired oven would be so pleasant in the early mornings along with the smell of bread in the afternoon filling our room. Unlike our last Wwoofing location where meals were prepared for us, we were given money to buy our own food from the local markets to allow us to try different foods that interested us. This worked out great because Seth was so knowledgeable about the local produce and would always have good recommendation for cheeses and vegetables to try. One of my favourite vegetables we tried was an orange squash that is plentiful in this region this time of year. It had a rich, sweet flavour that paired wonderfully with a square of butter.
Seth also taught us so much about the local varieties of cheeses and even purchased samples for us to try with his own money! It was so nice to be around someone who was knowledgeable about the local area and local products as that is what I love to learn about each place we go. Originally with a background in science and Engineering Seth was naturally very scientific about the bread and was able to answer all of my questions regarding why bread reacts in certain ways and how to make changes.
Aside from baking bread, there were lots of other experiences we had such as picking apples in the afternoon, participating in bongo drum lessons with Eric, cider farm tours and goat cheese farms! I laughed when Eric first told me he gave drum lessons because it has been something I've wanted to do for a long time and at a bakery was the last place I thought I would have the opportunity to do so! The lesson was very fun especially with Eric dancing and singing while we all tried to keep rhythm. We were very lucky to also have the opportunity to visit a friend of the bakeries' Cider and Calvados farm. Seth gave us a great tour through the old building filled with barrels of aging cider, calvados and a regional specialty called Pommeau.
The Calvados is aged 5,10 and 15 years and definityl has a bite to it! The cider is aged a minimum of 16 months, although their cider was nearly 6 years old. My personal favourite was the Pommeau. It is a mix of Calvados and apple juice aged in barrels that has a fantastic creamy taste with strong apple notes. It is only made and sold in this particular region making it an even more special drink that I'm happy to of been able to sample. Processing the apples for ciders and calvados was very back-breaking work in the past and up until 4 years ago this particular farm was still picking all the apples by hand and carrying apple sacs up the stairs on their backs. One man we met in his early sixties at the farm had a cane and a hunched back...evidence of years of hard work on the apple orchards. We had a sampling at the end of our tour of the 5,10 and 15 year old Calvados, the cider and Pommeau. Personally the Calvados was too strong for me, especially the 5 year old bottle, but I appreciate the flavour it had and could see how people do enjoy it. The cider was great as well and unlike ciders I've had before it was not too sweet but more bitter with a strong apple flavor, I really enjoyed it. Then, like I mentioned before, the Pommeau was my favourite. I think I will be purchasing a bottle before we leave this region to take with us.
The goat farm I already have written about in my last blog, so I won't go into too much detail again. I really appreciated that they arranged for us to have these experiences on other farms, allowing us to see what the region has to offer.
We also went to the markets on several days to sell bread and see the different vendors. Selling bread was a fun experience...especially since our french is very limited. It was really neat to be on the other side of the table selling the products rather than purchasing. I never though I would be selling bread at a market in France!
Getting up early in the morning to bake bread then selling it fresh to people was wonderful, especially seeing how passionate the customers were about eating organic, well-made bread. It was nice to see that many people are still willing to pay the extra money for quality food that they know is prepared properly without additives and machines. The breads made at Boulangerie Les CoPains included complet (whole grain), demi-complet (around 60% or so whole grain), and a variety of breads made with nuts and seeds. They also make a pain au brioche (natural, raison and chocolate chip) as well as sablee cookies, seasonal fruit tarts, pizzas and petite brioches. Everything tasted great (and yes I made sure to sample EVERYTHING) with my favourites being the sablee and petite brioche.
Boulangerie Les CoPains was a special place to visit and unfortunately the ten days went by far too fast. Waking up early and working with dough everyday with fantastic people has inspired me to make more breads when I return to Canada. They showed me that bread isn't scary and you shouldn't be afraid to try new things with dough. I feel more confident to make bread now then when I arrived and I have Boulangerie Les CoPain to thank for that.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
A Day on a Goat Farm.
Today was an exciting day for me because for those of you who do not know me well...I LOVE cheese (another reason that attracted me to France I have to admit.) At our current Wwoofing location at Boulangerie Les CoPains, they were able to arrange with a friend for us to come and spend the morning on the goat farm. It appears to be quite common that different hosts will exchange Wwoofers for the day with one another to allow travellers to experience the most they can from a region. I love being able to visit different farms and truly experience what the region has to offer first hand while meeting the farmers and seeing where products come from.
We woke up around 7:30am and took a small road that winded through the colourful fall trees to a house at the end of the road. The house was of traditional Normandy style with bricks and post and beam structure. We were cheerfully greeted at the door by the woman who makes the cheese, inviting us in for a tea. It was cozy inside with a large wooden table in the center of the room, a fireplace and jars of preserves on all the shelves. We met her husband and daughter and visited briefly before heading outside to the goats.
There were around 30 goats waiting in the barn when we opened the door, all excited to eat their breakfast. Goats are really beautiful animals and each one is so unique. After spending time around goats I have come to love how each one has such character. These goats in particular were very friendly and you could nuzzle right up to them. I scratched their ears when they jumped up on the fence and then they would lean their head on my shoulder affectionately.
Grain was scooped into the troughs in the milking station then five goats were lead in to be milked. At this goat farm the milking is done all by hand and everything is very rustic. You will not find any machines, special stalls or equipment...it's simply an old wooden platform with wooden bars to close around the necks to ensure the animals remain in place.
We were given a quick lesson on the milking technique then we were given a goat. It was a little tricky at first because when there is so much milk it is hard to squeeze the initial milk out, but after a few tries I managed to do so. It was great to milk the goats and to see the fresh milk right from the source. I really enjoyed the process and I could see how getting up in the morning to milk could be almost therapeutic (very hard work though!) Watching the connection between farmer and animal was amazing...she knew each ones behaviours so well and you could tell she truly loved her goats and they loved her.
After we had two milk cans full, we ventured up to the cheese laboratory. We put on a white lab coat, lab shoes and hairnet before entering the room to ensure no unwanted bacteria made its way into the delicate room. The cheese lab was quite small and like other ones we had seen, was sparse. There was a fridge, stainless steel table, washing table and a hose. She brought out a dozen or so molds to the washing table and we helped her unmold the finished cheeses.
I learned that the cheese will vary greatly depending on what mold you use. For example, a cheese made in a cylinder will taste much differently than a cheese made from the same batch in a pyramid. This is due to the amount of air that can penetrate the cheese while aging. Next, we sliced the larger cylinders and spiced the outsides with cumin, cinnamon, pepper and herbs (not all on the same piece). Then we used the previous days separated milk to make another batch. Depending on many factors of the day, the curd will behave differently. Ideally, the added culture will separate the whey and curds so the curd is smooth almost like yogurt. If the curd is not creamy, but more like the consistency of a tofu dessert, then you need to place it into a tray and combine until soft.
After this step you fill your desired mold and leave it in the fridge overnight. The following day you unmold the shape, season if desired, position on racks and place back in fridge to age. I didn't realize until recently how fast the goat cheese process is. You can be eating your cheese from the milking stage in as little as a week.
It was a fantastic day of learning for us, and I will enjoy goat's cheese even more now after seeing the process. Having the opportunity to watch fresh milk be transformed into a beautiful piece of cheese all in one day was fascinating. It encouraged me to be even more conscious about purchasing cheese from artisan farmers who are still so passionate about their products. Watching the connection between farmer and animal was wonderful and to see only fresh, basic ingredients used demonstrated why it is so important to buy from local, artisan farmers if possible.
We woke up around 7:30am and took a small road that winded through the colourful fall trees to a house at the end of the road. The house was of traditional Normandy style with bricks and post and beam structure. We were cheerfully greeted at the door by the woman who makes the cheese, inviting us in for a tea. It was cozy inside with a large wooden table in the center of the room, a fireplace and jars of preserves on all the shelves. We met her husband and daughter and visited briefly before heading outside to the goats.
There were around 30 goats waiting in the barn when we opened the door, all excited to eat their breakfast. Goats are really beautiful animals and each one is so unique. After spending time around goats I have come to love how each one has such character. These goats in particular were very friendly and you could nuzzle right up to them. I scratched their ears when they jumped up on the fence and then they would lean their head on my shoulder affectionately.
Grain was scooped into the troughs in the milking station then five goats were lead in to be milked. At this goat farm the milking is done all by hand and everything is very rustic. You will not find any machines, special stalls or equipment...it's simply an old wooden platform with wooden bars to close around the necks to ensure the animals remain in place.
We were given a quick lesson on the milking technique then we were given a goat. It was a little tricky at first because when there is so much milk it is hard to squeeze the initial milk out, but after a few tries I managed to do so. It was great to milk the goats and to see the fresh milk right from the source. I really enjoyed the process and I could see how getting up in the morning to milk could be almost therapeutic (very hard work though!) Watching the connection between farmer and animal was amazing...she knew each ones behaviours so well and you could tell she truly loved her goats and they loved her.
After we had two milk cans full, we ventured up to the cheese laboratory. We put on a white lab coat, lab shoes and hairnet before entering the room to ensure no unwanted bacteria made its way into the delicate room. The cheese lab was quite small and like other ones we had seen, was sparse. There was a fridge, stainless steel table, washing table and a hose. She brought out a dozen or so molds to the washing table and we helped her unmold the finished cheeses.
I learned that the cheese will vary greatly depending on what mold you use. For example, a cheese made in a cylinder will taste much differently than a cheese made from the same batch in a pyramid. This is due to the amount of air that can penetrate the cheese while aging. Next, we sliced the larger cylinders and spiced the outsides with cumin, cinnamon, pepper and herbs (not all on the same piece). Then we used the previous days separated milk to make another batch. Depending on many factors of the day, the curd will behave differently. Ideally, the added culture will separate the whey and curds so the curd is smooth almost like yogurt. If the curd is not creamy, but more like the consistency of a tofu dessert, then you need to place it into a tray and combine until soft.
After this step you fill your desired mold and leave it in the fridge overnight. The following day you unmold the shape, season if desired, position on racks and place back in fridge to age. I didn't realize until recently how fast the goat cheese process is. You can be eating your cheese from the milking stage in as little as a week.
It was a fantastic day of learning for us, and I will enjoy goat's cheese even more now after seeing the process. Having the opportunity to watch fresh milk be transformed into a beautiful piece of cheese all in one day was fascinating. It encouraged me to be even more conscious about purchasing cheese from artisan farmers who are still so passionate about their products. Watching the connection between farmer and animal was wonderful and to see only fresh, basic ingredients used demonstrated why it is so important to buy from local, artisan farmers if possible.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Loving every part of France.
It has now been over two months that I have been in France. I really don't know where the time has went. The amount of places we have visited and people we have met is astounding, and it really dawned on me this week that we are living here for the year. I'm not sure what clicked in my mind, but one morning I woke up and the fact that France is my home for the year suddenly sank in. It makes me smile whenever I think of this reality...it really does. What makes me even more happy, is all the experiences I wanted to have in France are actually possible. In the past week at my new Wwoofing location I have visited a goat fromagerie, toured a cider and Calvados farm, made bread in a wood fired oven and even worked as a vendor at a local market for the day! I will go into this past week further later on in the blog, but first I would like to talk a little about our journey up the West coast of France.
After leaving the Pyrenees we decided to travel to a ocean-side city called Biarritz, located in the western corner of France. Biarritz is a beautiful city with glamorous clothing stores, trendy restaurants and gorgeous beaches to stroll along.
There is an elegant feel to the city partly due to the prestigious hotels and the classy mannequins staring back at you through the shop windows. In particular, the Hotel Du Palais is a very impressive hotel that sits right on the beach with restaurants overlooking the crashing waves. The hotel was the summer residence to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, so you can imagine how impressive this hotel really is. Although, this hotel is out of most travellers budgets costing more than 500 Euros a night (basic room) and with the top suite listed at over 1900 Euros a night! Perhaps a nice picture of the impressive building will be enough then.
My favourite part of Biarritz was strolling along the golden beach and looking back at the city nestled along the coast. I found the beach to be particularly beautiful because of the mix of sand, cliffs and rocks sticking out from the water. I find myself preferring beaches with character over flat, resort style coastlines.
While walking along the seawall you can also watch the talented surfers ride the large waves, sometimes coming very close to rocks! Biarittz was a fantastic city, very different from the rest of France where you can go to enjoy the sun and water. A day-trip from Biarritz that I would highly recommend is to take the train to a small fishing town South of the city called Saint-Jean-De-Luz.
This village can also be reached by foot if you walk along the coast and highway, although after walking the distance I would recommend to take the train as it is a very far walk! Needless to say, we ended up hitch-hiking after walking for nearly four hours. Saint-Jean-De-Luz is also nestled along the coastline with beautiful boats dotting the ocean and unique Basque homes.
This small village is located only a few kilometers from Spain and everything about the town has a Basque feel including the food, homes and flags. A fantastic local specialty of the region is the Gateau Basque which is an almond flour based cake filled with pastry cream. The Basque culture is very unique and I would recommend reading about it more as they have so many interesting traditions unique to the region such as sports and language.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_culture#Culture
Well, I must move on to the next city now...the part of blogging I seem to struggle with the most. We travelled to Bordeaux, land of the wine and food. There is an Auberge de Jeunesse located conveniently downtown that is not easily found when searched for...but it does exist. It is not affiliated with HI or FUAJ so it does not come up on the hostel websites. Instead, search for Auberge de Jeuness Bordeaux located at 22 Cours Barbey, 33800 Bordeaux. The city was such an interesting shape because the old part of the city creates almost a wall, and when you reach the river you look back and there is literally a wall behind you. It's funny because a few people we met in the hostel actually said they were leaving early from Bordeaux because they didn't find the city interesting...I still find that confusing. The city is extremely interesting between the endless cafes, wineries, architecture, flea markets and people watching. The city is alive with energy due to the large amount of university students. Saint Catherines Street, the main shopping street of Bordeaux, is a bustling street lined with every store you could imagine. Even on the dreary day we were sightseeing, the street was filled with people and shopping bags.
The street tram in Bordeaux is very convenient as well and will take you to about anywhere you need to go.for 1.40 Euros. At some points the sleek tram crosses over grass which I found to be very different as I've only ever seen tracks on cement. We visited a restaurant deep in the heart of the city called L'Oiseau Cabosse.
There was a sticker outside noting it had been recommended by TripAdvisor so we decided to check it out. (Sometimes finding a sticker such as this is very helpful as there are so many restaurants that it is often hard to choose one). The interior was decorated with artsy posters and cute birds with homey jars of jams and stickers at the front. It reminded me so much of a restaurant I would find back home in the Kitsilano neighbourhood. The menu was printed on a chalkboard with offerings from the tiny kitchen in the back and I chose the Cake Roquefort avec raisins et noix, Mousse de courgettes au chorizo et petit epi de mais grille au safron and salad (11.50 Euros). My lunch was fantastic, especially the chorizo mousse and moist Roquefort cake. The restaurant was very popular and people were even ordering plates to go (literally took the plate and went to eat down the street).
Since I was in Bordeaux, I really wanted to see a vineyard. Being a huge fan of wine I felt it was important to visit a vineyard and learn about the Bordeaux region. The problem is, when you are on a very tight budget the price of the tours can really break the budget with half day tours ranging from 60-100 Euros! We felt discouraged after reading these prices and even more so when the booking agent told us all the vineyard tours had already been booked weeks previously. However, when we were about to leave she pulled a pamphlet out from the shelf and told us about Chateau Luchey-Halde Vineyard. She told us it could be reached by city tram, there was a tour and tasting and best of all it was only 9 Euros! I was so excited that there was an easy to reach vineyard that was definitely within our budget. The vineyard was great, a little hard to find from the tram stop, but once reached it was wonderful. The sprawling rows of grape vines stretched in front of us upon arrival and in the distance I could see the winery...where the magic happens.
The tour was very informative with a guide native to Bordeaux who spoke both French and English. We were able to see the grapes up close, learn about the soil, wander through the processing room and even see the aging barrels.
The barrels are purchased for 700 Euros and are only used for three cycles and then sold for 40 Euros (Quite often to Australia).
The tour ended with a tasting of three wines...a 2007 & 2009 Cab Franc-Cab Sauvignon-Merlot blend and a 2009 Sauvignon-Semillon blend. Surprisingly, the white ended up being my favourite! The reds were both fantastic as well but the white had a wonderful finish that I really found outstanding. Chateau Luchey-Halde was a fantastic winery at a very reasonable price that I would recommend visiting...you even get to keep your wine glass for that price!
Content with two days of wine we moved on next to the port city of La Rochelle located mid-way up the western coast of France. This history rich city has been involved in every major French military action since the 10th century. The impressive towers of La Rochelle lead you into the vieux port (old port) where you can wander through the old architecture of the city.
You can tour the Saint Nicolas Tower, Chain Tower and Tower of the Lantern and learn more about the history such as how the Tower of the Lantern is the only remaining medieval lighthouse on the Atlantic and was even a prison for a period of time.
Les Minimes Marina is another impressive site to see in La Rochelle with 3500 boats moored making it the largest pleasure boat marina in France.
The FUAJ hostel in La Rochelle was not among my favourite hostels with some the highest prices (23 Euros/person) we have encountered, no free wi-fi, no kitchen to use and slightly run-down facilities. It was not a bad place to stay but not a favourite for sure. I must mention though, the bar/restaurant in the hostel was surprisingly good with creative dishes and good prices (6 Euros/person).
As we neared the end of our travels up the coast we headed inland to Rennes. Instead of taking the train we used the Covoiturage program to make the two hour journey. Covoiturage is a car-pooling program within France (and many other places in the world) where you can go online and arrange rides with local people. It is very affordable, at half the cost or more of a train ticket, and you get to meet some wonderful people while practicing French. We had used Covoiturage twice before the journey to Rennes, and both times were very pleasant. The first man had a Volkswagen van and had been in the program for years and I think fancied himself to be a professional coach driver. He did not speak too much to us but when he did he was very nice...he even had scheduled bathroom breaks on the two hour journey. The second driver was a young woman with a sporty little Peugeot who we learned had Canadian dual citizenship. The driver to Rennes was a man in his early thirties who spoke french with us the entire journey and shared a passion for cars with my fiance. I'm so pleased we heard about the Covoiturage program because not only is it significantly cheaper, it's also a great way to practice French and meet local French people.
Rennes was a pleasant city with many university students. I couldn't help but feel a little sad when I watched all the eager, young students, knowing that with the unemployment being so high in France many of these students will find themselves jobless at the end of their education. I though about this quite often while travelling through France because we have seen so many universities on our travels and heard from so many people that work is becoming more and more difficult to find. It's a very sad reality for people here in France (and many other countries as well) that is quite evident when you speak to people. The buildings in Rennes were noticeably different from the more southern regions of France.
The post and beam style of building is predominant as well as bricks.
It's very interesting to see how the style of architecture varies so greatly from one region to the next. The Place de la Republique is worth looking at as well, being probably the most famous landmark of Rennes.
Browsing through the traditional Breton Culture stores is interesting as well and you will soon learn that the Breton culture is very unique to France just like the Basque culture is. They are very proud of their heritage, their Breton language and you will see the Brittany flag throughout the city. Rennes appeared to be a city for the young...a city where I was told can 'party hard'. Visiting the capital of Brittany got me excited to see more of the unique region in the new year.
At last we had made our journey up to Northern France where we would begin our next Wwoofing in Saint-Aubin-sur-Algot. Once again we stood at the train station awaiting our pickup from a complete stranger to go and live in a new home for 10 days. Instead of anxiety though, this time we felt excited...excited to start another adventure.
After leaving the Pyrenees we decided to travel to a ocean-side city called Biarritz, located in the western corner of France. Biarritz is a beautiful city with glamorous clothing stores, trendy restaurants and gorgeous beaches to stroll along.
There is an elegant feel to the city partly due to the prestigious hotels and the classy mannequins staring back at you through the shop windows. In particular, the Hotel Du Palais is a very impressive hotel that sits right on the beach with restaurants overlooking the crashing waves. The hotel was the summer residence to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, so you can imagine how impressive this hotel really is. Although, this hotel is out of most travellers budgets costing more than 500 Euros a night (basic room) and with the top suite listed at over 1900 Euros a night! Perhaps a nice picture of the impressive building will be enough then.
My favourite part of Biarritz was strolling along the golden beach and looking back at the city nestled along the coast. I found the beach to be particularly beautiful because of the mix of sand, cliffs and rocks sticking out from the water. I find myself preferring beaches with character over flat, resort style coastlines.
While walking along the seawall you can also watch the talented surfers ride the large waves, sometimes coming very close to rocks! Biarittz was a fantastic city, very different from the rest of France where you can go to enjoy the sun and water. A day-trip from Biarritz that I would highly recommend is to take the train to a small fishing town South of the city called Saint-Jean-De-Luz.
This village can also be reached by foot if you walk along the coast and highway, although after walking the distance I would recommend to take the train as it is a very far walk! Needless to say, we ended up hitch-hiking after walking for nearly four hours. Saint-Jean-De-Luz is also nestled along the coastline with beautiful boats dotting the ocean and unique Basque homes.
This small village is located only a few kilometers from Spain and everything about the town has a Basque feel including the food, homes and flags. A fantastic local specialty of the region is the Gateau Basque which is an almond flour based cake filled with pastry cream. The Basque culture is very unique and I would recommend reading about it more as they have so many interesting traditions unique to the region such as sports and language.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_culture#Culture
Well, I must move on to the next city now...the part of blogging I seem to struggle with the most. We travelled to Bordeaux, land of the wine and food. There is an Auberge de Jeunesse located conveniently downtown that is not easily found when searched for...but it does exist. It is not affiliated with HI or FUAJ so it does not come up on the hostel websites. Instead, search for Auberge de Jeuness Bordeaux located at 22 Cours Barbey, 33800 Bordeaux. The city was such an interesting shape because the old part of the city creates almost a wall, and when you reach the river you look back and there is literally a wall behind you. It's funny because a few people we met in the hostel actually said they were leaving early from Bordeaux because they didn't find the city interesting...I still find that confusing. The city is extremely interesting between the endless cafes, wineries, architecture, flea markets and people watching. The city is alive with energy due to the large amount of university students. Saint Catherines Street, the main shopping street of Bordeaux, is a bustling street lined with every store you could imagine. Even on the dreary day we were sightseeing, the street was filled with people and shopping bags.
The street tram in Bordeaux is very convenient as well and will take you to about anywhere you need to go.for 1.40 Euros. At some points the sleek tram crosses over grass which I found to be very different as I've only ever seen tracks on cement. We visited a restaurant deep in the heart of the city called L'Oiseau Cabosse.
There was a sticker outside noting it had been recommended by TripAdvisor so we decided to check it out. (Sometimes finding a sticker such as this is very helpful as there are so many restaurants that it is often hard to choose one). The interior was decorated with artsy posters and cute birds with homey jars of jams and stickers at the front. It reminded me so much of a restaurant I would find back home in the Kitsilano neighbourhood. The menu was printed on a chalkboard with offerings from the tiny kitchen in the back and I chose the Cake Roquefort avec raisins et noix, Mousse de courgettes au chorizo et petit epi de mais grille au safron and salad (11.50 Euros). My lunch was fantastic, especially the chorizo mousse and moist Roquefort cake. The restaurant was very popular and people were even ordering plates to go (literally took the plate and went to eat down the street).
Since I was in Bordeaux, I really wanted to see a vineyard. Being a huge fan of wine I felt it was important to visit a vineyard and learn about the Bordeaux region. The problem is, when you are on a very tight budget the price of the tours can really break the budget with half day tours ranging from 60-100 Euros! We felt discouraged after reading these prices and even more so when the booking agent told us all the vineyard tours had already been booked weeks previously. However, when we were about to leave she pulled a pamphlet out from the shelf and told us about Chateau Luchey-Halde Vineyard. She told us it could be reached by city tram, there was a tour and tasting and best of all it was only 9 Euros! I was so excited that there was an easy to reach vineyard that was definitely within our budget. The vineyard was great, a little hard to find from the tram stop, but once reached it was wonderful. The sprawling rows of grape vines stretched in front of us upon arrival and in the distance I could see the winery...where the magic happens.
The tour was very informative with a guide native to Bordeaux who spoke both French and English. We were able to see the grapes up close, learn about the soil, wander through the processing room and even see the aging barrels.
The barrels are purchased for 700 Euros and are only used for three cycles and then sold for 40 Euros (Quite often to Australia).
The tour ended with a tasting of three wines...a 2007 & 2009 Cab Franc-Cab Sauvignon-Merlot blend and a 2009 Sauvignon-Semillon blend. Surprisingly, the white ended up being my favourite! The reds were both fantastic as well but the white had a wonderful finish that I really found outstanding. Chateau Luchey-Halde was a fantastic winery at a very reasonable price that I would recommend visiting...you even get to keep your wine glass for that price!
Content with two days of wine we moved on next to the port city of La Rochelle located mid-way up the western coast of France. This history rich city has been involved in every major French military action since the 10th century. The impressive towers of La Rochelle lead you into the vieux port (old port) where you can wander through the old architecture of the city.
You can tour the Saint Nicolas Tower, Chain Tower and Tower of the Lantern and learn more about the history such as how the Tower of the Lantern is the only remaining medieval lighthouse on the Atlantic and was even a prison for a period of time.
Les Minimes Marina is another impressive site to see in La Rochelle with 3500 boats moored making it the largest pleasure boat marina in France.
The FUAJ hostel in La Rochelle was not among my favourite hostels with some the highest prices (23 Euros/person) we have encountered, no free wi-fi, no kitchen to use and slightly run-down facilities. It was not a bad place to stay but not a favourite for sure. I must mention though, the bar/restaurant in the hostel was surprisingly good with creative dishes and good prices (6 Euros/person).
As we neared the end of our travels up the coast we headed inland to Rennes. Instead of taking the train we used the Covoiturage program to make the two hour journey. Covoiturage is a car-pooling program within France (and many other places in the world) where you can go online and arrange rides with local people. It is very affordable, at half the cost or more of a train ticket, and you get to meet some wonderful people while practicing French. We had used Covoiturage twice before the journey to Rennes, and both times were very pleasant. The first man had a Volkswagen van and had been in the program for years and I think fancied himself to be a professional coach driver. He did not speak too much to us but when he did he was very nice...he even had scheduled bathroom breaks on the two hour journey. The second driver was a young woman with a sporty little Peugeot who we learned had Canadian dual citizenship. The driver to Rennes was a man in his early thirties who spoke french with us the entire journey and shared a passion for cars with my fiance. I'm so pleased we heard about the Covoiturage program because not only is it significantly cheaper, it's also a great way to practice French and meet local French people.
Rennes was a pleasant city with many university students. I couldn't help but feel a little sad when I watched all the eager, young students, knowing that with the unemployment being so high in France many of these students will find themselves jobless at the end of their education. I though about this quite often while travelling through France because we have seen so many universities on our travels and heard from so many people that work is becoming more and more difficult to find. It's a very sad reality for people here in France (and many other countries as well) that is quite evident when you speak to people. The buildings in Rennes were noticeably different from the more southern regions of France.
The post and beam style of building is predominant as well as bricks.
It's very interesting to see how the style of architecture varies so greatly from one region to the next. The Place de la Republique is worth looking at as well, being probably the most famous landmark of Rennes.
Browsing through the traditional Breton Culture stores is interesting as well and you will soon learn that the Breton culture is very unique to France just like the Basque culture is. They are very proud of their heritage, their Breton language and you will see the Brittany flag throughout the city. Rennes appeared to be a city for the young...a city where I was told can 'party hard'. Visiting the capital of Brittany got me excited to see more of the unique region in the new year.
At last we had made our journey up to Northern France where we would begin our next Wwoofing in Saint-Aubin-sur-Algot. Once again we stood at the train station awaiting our pickup from a complete stranger to go and live in a new home for 10 days. Instead of anxiety though, this time we felt excited...excited to start another adventure.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
