Vive La France!

One of the great things about living in the Southeast of England is that we are not very far from the coast, and in particular, the ferries or the tunnel to France. We can leave home early in the morning and be sitting in a cafe in France just a few hours later, and then be back home later on in the day before the sun goes down if we so choose. So it was on Saturday, when Todd, myself and some dear friends of ours, Julie, Paul and their daughter JoJo took a lovely day trip to France. (Julie is a great friend, and the author of Tulips Kitchen )

We left Oak Cottage at the crack of dawn,about 6:30 am and were on the 8 am ferry crossing over from Dover. I always get sea sick. It is a curse I have had to live with my whole life, but thanks to the aid of some sea sick medication and a smooth crossing that was not a problem. (Seriously, I get sick on a swing, so it's always a real worry of mine. I would dearly love to go on a cruise at some point, but am afraid that I'd spend the whole time with my head in the loo!)



We had decided we were going to spend the day in a lovely little town called Boulogne. Boulogne is a popular destination for British day travellers and it is the most important fishing port in France according to what I have read about it. Todd and I had been there once before with some other good friends and were keen to visit it again. The last time we had been there it had been bucketing down and this time, whilst not raining cats and dogs, it was raining again. We British are a hardy lot though and a little rain never keeps us from enjoying anything and after finding a place to park, we went off on foot to explore whatever we could.



It's a very quaint town with lots of cobbled streets and little byways. On one of them we found a little antiquities shop which was very charming and compelling. We just had to go inside to have a look, even though we all knew that none of us would be able to afford anything in it, nor would we have wanted to carry it around all day. I love exploring these dark little shops. They always have a unique smell and atmosphere.



One of the places we really wanted to explore was the ramparts, or the upper town that is contained within a wall. You can walk along the wall and have spectacular view of the town if you like or you can explore all the little cobbled streets and avenues which lay tucked inside the walls. We chose the latter and it really was charming. I'd say, for the most part, it is also pedestrianized which is really nice for wanderers.



We were feeling a bit peckish by then and decided to find a place for lunch and found this one street within the ramparts that was nothing but little cafe style restaurants. A lot of them had nothing but seafood on offer. Todd and I are both allergic to shellfish so we tried to pick one that had a good variety of everything on offer. We found a lovely one about halfway up the street. It would have been nice to sit outside but with the rain and drizzle we sat inside. We all had lovely meals. Todd had a steak and chips, Paul had salmon and chips, Julie had mussels and chips and JoJo had chicken and chips. I chose an open faced tarte (or sandwich) with salad and chips. What is it about us British and our chips??? Actually they call them frites in France and French Fries in North America so perhaps the French invented them. Whatever . . . all our meals were delicious and it was lovely to think that we were sitting there in a cafe in France eating lunch, while whispers of French language tickled our ears and French musique softly played in the background. About halfway through our meal the sun came out and we were able to enjoy the rest of the day in warmth and sunshine. It was lovely!



We found a delightful little shop that was full of beautiful little curiosities. It was an art gallery and there were some really interesting pieces in there but there were also lots of other wonderful little trinkets and crafts to look at and dream about. A whole area was devoted to nothing but chickens and I fell in love with a particular one . . . I say that loosely as I fell in love with the whole shop, but this particular one caught my eye. It was a little stuffed one that had the word Cuisine embroidered across it's girth. (Yes, it's the one at the top of this post. )I was so surprised to arrive home and find that Julie and her family had bought it for me as a keepsake of the day spent together. Thanks Julie, that was ever so sweet of you and I shall cherish it always!



There was even a candy shop that had the biggest Chupa pops that I have ever seen! They were at least 6 to 8 inches in diameter. I think that was Jo Jo's favourite shop! We stood outside and inhaled the sweet sugary smells that emanated from out the doorway and reminisced about being children and how wonderful a shop like that would have been to us.



(All day I kept thinking of my sister Cindy and how wonderful it would be to explore the city with her and how we would have spent most of the day talking to each other in cheesy French accents. It would have been so much fun! Eh Ewe (Hugh) is dat ewe (you)! . . . it's a family thing . . . )



We kept exploring and walking around until my feet began to protest. We had been looking for an outdoor market and only managed to find one too late, when all the stalls had been shut down and they were cleaning the streets. Never mind . . . just leaves us something to go back for another time.

One thing we always do when we go over to France is to go to the huge hypermart shopping centre and do some grocery shopping. I am not sure if things are all that much cheaper there anymore or not, but there is a plethora of different things to buy and you can get huge jars of Dijon mustard and really good French Mayonnaise and flour, not to mention lovely cheeses, meats and . . . croissants and pastries. We had a drink first and a pastry before Julie and I explored the Carre Four. Todd stayed in the cafe with a drink and his magazine, Paul and JoJo went off to explore something else and Julie and I did a Wilma and Betty in a foodies paradise!! I got some lovely smoked garlic. The garlic in France is lovely. Much nicer that anything we can get in a store over here. I'm not sure why that is.



Returning to England the car was full of the smells of garlic and cheese and buttery croissants. We'd all had a wonderful day and as tired as we were and as sore as our feet were, I think we were all feeling pretty good. The best part of the day was getting to spend it in the company of some really special people, and to share the childish enthusiasm of JoJo as she explored everything. Getting to see it all through the eyes of a child is something that Todd and I very rarely get to experience so it was really wonderful!

Jess was really glad to see us arriving home as she'd spent a pretty lonely day back here at Oak Cottage. She's ever so good. She never messes or anything, and it's always so nice to be greeted with her wildly wagging tale and lots of licks. Nobody can make you feel more welcomed home than a loving dog! I think we all agreed that we had had a pretty wonderful day. I'd do it again tomorrow if I could. Thanks Julie and Paul for bringing us along on your adventure, and thanks Jo Jo for being such a great kid and making an enjoyable experience even better!

What do you make for dinner late on a Sunday afternoon, when you have forgotten to take anything out of the freezer and you have some lovely fresh olive oil and garlic at hand? Why Crispy patates avec des oueffs et garlique! Hmmm..... tasty fried potatoes and eggs. *smile*



*Crispy Potatoes and Eggs for Two*
Serves 2

Sometimes a simple supper is best of all and you can't get much simpler than this . . . lovely par boiled potatoes fried until crispy and golden in a mixture of olive oil and butter which has been heated with garlic and sage giving it all a wonderful flavour. Pop in two eggs and you have a meal fit for a king and a queen! Just perfect for two! You could of course make it for more but I would suggest using two skillets then!

a little over 1 pound of mealy potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 TBS olive oil
1 ounce butter
2 fat garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
3 sprigs of fresh sage
2 large free range organic eggs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Put the potato chunks into a pan of lightly salted water and bring to a boil. Cook only until they are just barely cooked through, but not falling apart. About ten minutes. Drain well.

Put the olive oil, garlic and sage into a large nonstick skillet along with the butter. Heat until the butter melts and begins to sizzle. Add the potatoes and saute them over fairly high heat at first. Once they start to look golden reduce the heat and leave them cooking to get crusty, turning them carefully from time to time to make sure they brown well all over. Take care not to break them up too much, although just a little bit gives you lovely crunchy golden bits, which is taste wonderful.

Once you get them all nicely browned season them well with some sea salt and cracked black pepper and clear two big spaces amongst the potatoes that you can drop the two eggs into. Break an egg into each space and sprinkle them with some salt. Pop on a lid and let cook over medium low heat just for a few minutes to set the whites. Serve at once.

The potatoes taste so lovely with the egg yolks mixed in like a delicious golden sauce.