Today was the day for the BIG Dinner Party. J&J had organised a special french dinner with their friends, 2 French couples (Pascal & Marujke, Jani & Jacques and 1 English couple (Richard & Valerie) who speak fluent French. It was a combined effort with J&J providing the venue, Pascal the soup & entree, Jani the main course, Valerie the salad and cheese course. A serious banquet! Of course there was a lot of preparation and we contributed with some local wines that we picked up yesterday and a table centrepiece.
The special dishes on the menu was escallopes of foie gras (that we sourced yesterday), pan fried and served with caramalised orange and grapefruit segments. Main course was 2 whole ducks, stuffed with apples and served with a cep mushroom sauce. What an indescribably delicious meal although it is best not to think too much about how foie gras is actually produced!!
The wine and conversation flowed throughout the night. And it was a long one!! 1 am when they finally drew breath!! Due to our language limitations our contribution to the conversation was a little less. Although Richard did take pity on us and speak to us in English for a time.
Earlier in the day we left Jean & John to their preparations and explored their local area. Ably guided by Toby their cockerspaniel we did a long walk through the surrounding forest and fields.
French Observations
You may have read somewhere that dogs are welcome anywhere they go in France. We have experienced this many times over the last few weeks. Dogs are really treated as humans and pretty much sit at or under the table, on couches and in their owners' beds. Takes a bit of getting used to. But the extraordinary fact is that the pooches are all incredibly well behaved. I can't imagine the chaos that Ben (Graeme's old Labrador) would have caused at a dinner party interacting with other dogs, food smells and the attention of the guests. There would have been carnage!! French dogs just seem to take it all in their stride - Amazing.
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