First, there was the fiasco of the croissants. When we have to buy croissants ahead of breakfast, we freeze them and reheat them in the oven the next morning to restore their flakiness. Only we couldn't get the oven to heat no matter what combination of buttons and dials we pushed. But the toaster worked well. We were just grateful to have these available from Martine and Monique as part of our breakfast fare.
Then, there was the visit from the electrician - our gate has remote controlled opening and closing and the remotes were not working, so the electrician arrived around 12:30 to see what needed to be done. We didn't know the where the remotes were (the electrician showed us they were on the key fobs we are now carrying around. Sigh.) Turns out the remotes may need new boards and the electrician's son will call me to set an appointment. Needless to say, conversations with electricians haven't made it into the vocabulary and grammar of my basic French. My brain hurts.
By now, it was past lunch time, so we headed into town to eat at "Le Pressoir" a brasserie in downtown Sarrians. A brasserie features both a restaurant and a bar. The place was lively with locals eating outside as well as inside. Janis and I had chicken caesar salads, Clark had a burger with "the best French fries he's had in 2 years" [correction: that is 62 years - not since Little League, Clark tells me.] and Dave had the "plat du midi" - the lunch special - a steak frites with salad. And glasses of local rosé and red wines. So satisfying.
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| Brasserie Le Pressoir in Sarrians |
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| lunch at Le Pressoir |
Next adventure was our trip to Carpentras for a major grocery shopping. Just 15 minutes from Sarrians, this largish town sports a LeClerc - basically a super Walmart or super Target type store. You can buy just about anything here. But the size of the store is intimidating and it takes a lot of time to negotiate the aisles filled with people going every which direction. And don't forget to have the lady weigh and label your produce or you'll be sent away from the cash register - do not pass GO, do not pay your $200. We need lots of basics - paper and plastic supplies, some seasonings, oil, balsamic, pork to grill for dinner, and of course some cheeses, sausages, olives, and baguette for aperos. The boys may have found a few bottles of wine.
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| View of Mont Ventoux on our way to/from Carpentras |
A planned quick stop at home is needed to empty the groceries before sending Dave and Clark off to the Avignon train station to pick up our first house guest - my sister Nancy, whose arrival by TGV (train de grand vitesse - France's fast train system) is expected at Avignon at 5 pm.
Arriving at the gate of our house, Clark unlocked the pedestrian gate and went up to the house to unlock the door and disarm the security system before opening the car gate for the rest of us to enter. That's when the big OOPS happened. Clark keyed in the wrong code and the system started chirping in a most annoying way. When we arrived at the door, the correct code was entered and the chirping stopped. BUT.....an hour later, a security man arrived at our gate and for the second time today, my French was stressed as I tried to explain our "bêtise" (stupidity). He was most friendly, but we're not sure how much he will cost us for the "social" call. And now the security company has both my name and Janis'. And once more my conversational French was challenged by technologies I don't understand in English.
A final challenge was the wait for Nancy and the boys to arrive from the train station. They were caught in a traffic accident back up that involved 2 ambulances and tow trucks. It took an extra hour, but the appetizers were served on our pool patio in the waning sun of the day. We are so lucky to be here.
Gotta run. Dave's just brought the pork steaks in from the grill. Janis has a great salad and asparagus to accompany. and the wine steward has placed a lovely Côtes du Rhône - Village on the table.
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| dinner in the kitchen |
A demain. (Til tomorrow)
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