Tag: boulangerie

Limousin, France – Day 4


It’s Monday morning and I’ve made the run to Massaret for fresh bread.

Masseret, Limousin, France - Hilltop Tower
Masseret, Limousin, France – Hilltop Tower

French bread is wonderful but it doesn’t stay fresh for long. But that’s OK because I get to meet all these friendly people. Everyone says “Bonjour” when they meet you in the street or inside the boulangerie. Then “Au Revoir” when either they or you leave the shop. It is such a refreshing change from the sullen brits who just stand there avoiding eye contact.

Masseret, Limousin, France - The 12c. Church of St. Catherine.
Masseret, Limousin, France – The 12c. Church of St. Catherine.

So this morning I request a baguette, and a boule, in my rather fractured franglais and make it known that I would like the boule sliced. Madame returns with the loaf in a bag and promptly drops it on the floor with the individual slices all trying to make a run for the space under the counter. With many typically gallic shrugs and embarrassed smiles a second boule makes its way through the slicer, into a bag and safely into my arms and back to the gite.

Today we have decided to go into Limoges for a bit of a reconnaissance. Surprisingly we make into the centre, park up and find the tourist information office all in one smooth move. We discover that there is one of those “tourist train” things due to leave from just outside the tourist office in a short while. The consensus was that this would be a quick way to orientate ourselves to the Limoges sights. Then we can cherry pick those that we want to do in detail. So into a cafe we go for a quick coffee and cake and not long after we are sat aboard in anticipation.

Limoges, France - Hotel de Ville
Limoges, France – Hotel de Ville

To describe the journey as  the ride from hell would be extreme but it was anything but pleasant. The coaches shuddered back and forth like the folds of an accordion and the cobble streets jarred our spines through the virtually non existent suspension and thin padding on the seats. I should also point out that there is an audio commentary available with translations. We were all issued with earphones but the translated commentary was fragmented possibly breaking up in harmony with the reverberations radiating through the chassis of the coaches. The translated commentary was pretty much drowned out by the volume of the native commentary blasting out over the speakers. Thankfully, after an hour it was over.

Limoges, France - Chapelle du College des Jesuites - Built 1629
Limoges, France – Chapelle du College des Jesuites – Built 1629

After the trauma of the train ride we decided that what we all needed was a quiet walk by the river. This turned out to be a good decision.

Limoges, France - Pavillion du Verdurier
Limoges, France – Pavillion du Verdurier

The walk by the river led us to the saint-Etienne Bridge ….

Limoges, France - Saint Martial Bridge - dating from the Roman era
Limoges, France – Saint Etienne Bridge – dating from 13c.

The following description I have plagiarized from one of the many info plaques ….

The St Etienne bridge was built in the 13th C to divert some of the traffic away from St Martial bridge, aboy 1km downstream. It was on the “via Lemovicensis”, a main route to Santiago de Compostella and is  used by pilgrims to this day. It linked the right bank quarter of washerwomen, who until the middle of the 20th C washed the towns bourgeoisie’s linen in the river, to the “Clos Ste Marie”, nowadays a village in the city centre, on the left bank.

The bridge also marked the end of the stretch of river used to float lumber from the mountain to the construction sites and industries of Limoges.

 

It was very peaceful here, away from the noise of the city traffic. So much so that there was a bit of billing and cooing going on ….

Time for amour
Time for amour

 

Another, more modern, bridge …….

 

Limoges, France - Pont Neuf. Built 1838
Limoges, France – Pont Neuf. Built 1838
Limoges, France - Wonky buildings en route to the cathedral.
Limoges, France – Wonky buildings en route to the cathedral.

 

Limoges, France - Rue du Pont Saint-Etienne 1907
Limoges, France – Rue du Pont Saint-Etienne 1907
Limoges, France - Rue du Pont Saint-Etienne 2014
Limoges, France – Rue du Pont Saint-Etienne 2014

Bloated ?


Just over two weeks ago I set off to France on vacation.

Every time I go away I make several promises to myself. I’m not going to overeat, I’m going to eat lots of salads, I’m going to lay off the bread and I’m going to get some exercise.

Of course I jettison most of those within about two nano-seconds of arrival. Salads are easy and I’ll always eat plenty of salad stuff, box number one ticked. The exercise one is sort of easy too since we are going sight-seeing and maybe swimming so that’s tick number two in the boxes. So that leaves the overeating and the bread.

As it happens I find that I actually pick less, no meals between meals if you see what I mean and when I am sightseeing i.e. busy then I don’t get hungry. So the overeating box is lightly ticked as I will go for the full three courses at the main meal and of course I’ve probably had some kind of breakfast.

Which leads us neatly to box number four.

BREAD

How can one go to France and not eat bread ?

Every morning the ritual was to get up and head down to the nearest boulangerie, just three kilometers. The joy of walking into that shop with the fresh loaves displayed behind the counter and the smell, Wow !!

Getting the still warm loaf back to the gite, cup of tea or coffee and then slicing through that crust unleashing more fresh aromas. Slapping on the local charentaise butter and taste buds all jumping for joy.

I can taste it now.

Now, I failed this promise in a big way. Bread (toast) for breakfast, bread before and during meals. So many different styles of bread. Many times I started of the day full of bread. Full but never bloated.

So why is it that after just two slices of Hovis, I feel both full and bloated ?

I know the style of the bread is different and this Hovis stuff is effectively production line, factory bread. What do they put in it that has this bloating effect.

I am seriously thinking that I must take up bread making again even if I have to do it by hand. No Kenwood Chef and Dough Hook, No Kenwood Bread Maker.

I don’t like this bloated feeling.

Packing and Cleaning


Day 15 – Friday 29th June

Today is a sad day. As we will be travelling home tomorrow we have to pack our kit and give the gite a bit of a clean.

I made my last 3km run to the boulangerie earlier this morning. Picked up a “petite boule”. It has been hard during the last few days, the decision making that is. A petite boule, a grand boule, a pavee or perhaps a baguette. I am going to miss the daily bread trip. I don’t know where the nearest artisan bakery is at home. The nearest we have is in one of the supermarket chain stores.

I’m not likely to get a bright smiley Bon Jour from a bland, help yourself, bank of loaves. Let alone the same varieties of bread.

So we have packed and scrubbed, rewarded ourselves with an ice cold beer and relaxed for a while.

We visited a local cave to buy some local wine. This descended into farce as I initially tried to ask concrete truck drivers mate if the cave was open. He of course couldn’t understand me but wouldn’t know anyway. He did indicate a guy on a tractor. So I went and introduced myself asked if he spoke any english. He shook my hand said something in French, climbed down off his tractor and ran off behind a building. In the meantime a black and tan dog came and introduced himself.

There are no language barriers betwixt man and dog.

A couple minutes later another guy turns up on a tractor. Speaks in French at 1000 words a second while first pointing at his cement covered wellies then at the building works and the truck. Eventually I understood him to be saying that he couldn’ deal with us as the concrete truck had arrived late. That he now had to deal with the concrete before that went off and could we come back tomorrow morning after nine.

We said not to worry, we couldn’t come back as we would be travelling home. As we were leaving he came running after us with a bottle of wine. Presumably as a consolation for not being able to buy his wine. I protested that it was not necessary, but not too much, and accepted gracefully. We bid our adieu’s and headed off to Aigre.

In Aigre we headed into the supermarket, to hedge our bets and buy some commercial wine. After that we went to research the two restaurants and decide which one should have our custom for our last relaxed meal in France.

The lucky winner was Le Square, who provided us with an adequate meal which with beers cost us over 50 euros. This compared to a really good meal with wine and beer which cost us just over 31 euros at Les Colombiere the night before.

And so back to the gite, a couple of games of Rummikub and early to bed.