On our way to the Val D’Amour we spent a night in Reims – a beautiful French city in the Champagne region. Yes, champagne.  Oh what a treat it was to enjoy a glass of the bubbly stuff right at the source! I had fantasies of finding a little bed and breakfast in one of the wineries and learning more about the making of etc, but alas we didn’t arrive in the region until after 9pm and had to leave by midday the next day to be able to get to our destination on time.

I did however have just enough time to enjoy a delicious glass of Mailly. The next morning, French Boy and I wandered about the town, I knowing little about where I was or what I was seeing,  and he knowing quite alot. I always feel really lucky to be wandering around this fabulous country with him, he is not only like a private tour guide but he has personal memories to add to each story.

After we indulged in a breakfast of pain au chocolat, croissants, baguette with homemade jam, fresh juice and coffee (me, tea of course), we wandered toward the cathedral, having spotted the towers ahead, pointed straight to the sky. And although I am not religious – despite the fact that my last name in Dutch actually means “by the church” (so ironic!) – I do enjoy history and art, and this particular church is an incredible structure housing both amazing art and fascinating history. From the outside it reminded me of the Notre Dame in Paris. And in the inside at first well, it just reminded me of a church. But as I wandered further through the huge arched nave, and looked and listened, I realised how significant this particular place has been in the course of French history.

Would you like to know what it sounds like inside? I recorded a little soundscape for you, click the play button below to be transported inside as we gaze at the photos I took while wandering through the aisles…

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This is where I stood for the longest while, looking up at those gigantic windows and watching the light flood through. Of all the stained glass windows in the cathedral, these ones made me stop in my tracks. They were so uniquely different to all the others, so modern and creative. French Boy noticed my reaction and lent in to whisper two words to me:  “Marc Chagall”. Oh I thought, no wonder I adore them, what a masterpiece.

I hope you enjoyed my quietish tour through the cathedral. Although this particular post really had nothing to do with the scenery or food of France.

xx

PS Funnily enough there  just happened to be a Canadian village set up in the Reims city square that weekend. How bizarre it was to be eating croissants in this very French town and seeing Canadian flags attached to little wooden huts selling maple syrup, cranberries, beer, salmon, soaps and wool sweaters. It was like being in Montreal, but then absolutely nothing like it. Nice touch to our weekend though!

Despite what these images may suggest, it was actually an extraordinarily busy and rather stressful weekend, with not much time to relax. But I was determined to walk the land, a treat I always always do, no matter where I am in the world – its my way of connecting with the earth, a very necessary thing for me to do as often as I possibly can. So off I went, alone, into the surroundings with my camera. It was a short wander, but a beautiful one. I sat on the grass between two fields, the sky was growing grey with storm clouds, and I listened. and watched. and quietened my mind…

I came across all sorts of  lovely creatures, all were as curious about me as I was about them. And then there were the apple trees. Oh the apple trees! Chock full of delicious fruit. We were given a lovely pot of homemade apple compote that French Boy will no doubt open with pure delight this weekend.

Location:  Val D’Amour

In our basket: apple compote, homemade jam, baguettes, camembert, comté, morbier, concoillote, Mont d’Or

To drink: cremant, vin blanc et vin rouge tous du jura

Have a fabulous weekend mes chers amis. Thank you for all your comments and emails this week. I’ll be back next week with some more from our weekend in the Jura, including a late night stroll through an old old town, and a surprise soundscape (have you missed them? I have).

Right now we have some delicious cremant chilling in the fridge. I am about to make a roast pumpkin, carrot and garlic rissotto, with a little green salad to end. And then I’m thinking about a plum cobbler. And a long sleep in tomorrow before I get back to work in the afternoon.

xx

…is always a delight, even from the passenger seat of a rental car. I am continually mesmerised by what I see, touch, taste and feel. My senses are alight, my heart full and happy.

By the time we arrived to our destination on Saturday night, it was evening, the forest was dark and quiet, the village streets were sleeping…

Location… val d’amour

Highlights on the evening menu…

l’heure de l’apéro… champagne, gougères au fromage…
entrée… arbois blanc – cuvée béthanie,fish terrine, vegetable terrine…
dessert…champagne, choux à la crême patissière…

The … mean there was plenty, plenty, plenty in between, but these dishes were my favourite this particular night.  I drank and ate alot that evening, and woke up the next day feeling wonderful, not a hang over in sight. Oh the French, aren’t they wonderful lovers of all the good things in life…

…France. I ate alot.  I’m not sure what to tell you about first – the scenery, or the food…both?

…the perfect way to start a monday morning, non? The jams were made from the fruits of French Boy’s childhood garden – cerises, abricots, and griottes. His mother made them and brought them with her on her recent visit.

This morning, while French Boy and I spooned mouthfuls onto our toast, he told me stories about his childhood garden, with trees full of cherries, plums, figs and apples. I would scarcely believe him if I hadn’t already seen the garden many times with my own eyes. It is magical to me, a world so different to my own. Like a secret garden.

I wonder if I might make a garden like this of my own one day. I dream of it often.