Soiree Gourmande

After my string of 'tour director misses', I hit one out of the park last night.

For the past couple of weeks I had seen Monsieur handing out leaflets at the Puy L'Eveque market advertising a Soiree Gourmande at his winery down in the valley. Literally translated, soiree gourmande means 'A Party For People Who Enjoy Eating Food'.

We love parties! We love eating food! This event was custom made for us!

We knew we were in for a treat when we arrived at the winery and saw a very long row of tables snaking it's way up the dirt path through the grape vines. Sunflowers adorned the white tablecloths.

We found a spot and sat ourselves down. I think we were the only English speaking people there. Everyone else seemed to know each other with double cheek kisses flying about.

The appetizer was half a melon filled with wine. A prune, slice of ham, and a cherry tomato were skewered onto the side of the fruit. God, I love the French.

It was such a joy to be there!

We ate a selection of grilled meats and a ratatouille of vegetables.

Kids ran about squealing. Boys played their video games. One little guy was sneaking the sunflowers off the tables and presenting them to the women seated nearby. (Chrissy was one of the lucky recipients.) A man began to sing French ballads into a microphone.

When it came time for dessert, we tucked into a most delicious walnut cake. The woman sitting across from us asked if we liked it. Liked it? We LOVED it! She said, "My husband baked this cake." Sitting beside her was the one and only Franck Tonel! Joe's favourite baker in all of Puy L'Eveque! Joe shouted, "I've met a famous person!". Which made Monsieur Tonel beam.

The sun set, the lights came on overhead, and out came the coffee. A man stood up and began to recite poetry much to the delight of the crowd. We bid our adieus to Monsieur and Madame Tonel and made our way back to the car where we left it parked in a field.

I turned around one last time to breathe in the ambience.

Sigh....I love this country.