Sipping Espresso

Jen, Julia and I spent a few days exploring France - from the  French Riviera (blog post HERE ) to Côtes du Rhône (first blog post HERE ).  I knew that the dining experience would be different than what we've grown accustomed to while living in Italy, but I think I underestimated just how different it would be. I'll point out a couple of the noticeable differences.  If you've been reading this blog, you'll know that I have made many references to pranzo , or lunch.  While the literal definition is simply, lunch - it should be modified to be more along the lines of, large meal in which copious amounts of pasta are finished with meats and salads and where the act of gathering is as important as the meal.  Wine and grappa are a must.   Since lunch is usually the "big deal", that means we partake in a very light dinner.  Whereas in France, dinner was the star meal of the day.  Although, many of our days in France we also had a big l...

There once was a couple in France Their kind invitation gave us a chance To visit a wonderful land And so a trip was planned Soon it was wine we were drinking And glasses we were clinking Our good friends Michel and Shirley have a wonderful home in a small village in the Côtes du Rhône region of France.  They invited us to join them for a few days recently, an invitation we were happy to accept.  Google maps told me that the journey from our home to theirs was approximately six hours and so we decided a stopover at the beach for a night would break up the drive nicely (read about it HERE ).  After a relaxing night in Beaulieu-Sur-Mer , we headed north to Sablet, France so that we could savor an enjoyable visit with good friends. Sablet, France We arrived in Sablet as scheduled, late in the afternoon.  However, I had misplaced all the phone numbers to reach Michel and so I wasn't quite sure exactly where to go upon arriving in the village.  M...