Wide Angle: Vol. 15

Pin It Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving! A day made for taking a moment to find gratitude for the big and small things in your life. I have a lot to be thankful for this year and I was lucky enough to have not 1, but 3 hearty meals with family.

Because I've been in France for the last week (yes, it was great), and I'm still fighting some bleary-eyed jet lag, I don't have a food post or a travel post. Just quick little look at what's been happening behind the scenes.

It's been busy and awesome and I'm thankful for every second of it. So let's get to it.

1. & 2. Are a couple of glimpses from when I was exploring the new neighbourhood. Unfortunately the ferris wheel was a temporary installation for a local street festival.

3. That gold french press is the thing of dreams. It was given to be by my sister as part of a wedding shower gift and it makes coffee time feel 1,000 times more glamorous, instantly.

4. Beautiful flowers also help make coffee time extra special. Just saying.

5. Did I mention I went to Paris!? I had the chance to stay with two wonderful human beings in the most picture perfect Parisian apartment. To make it even more perfect, one of them happens to work around the corner from this famous site. A fact I was informed of but didn't truly believe until I parted ways with her and then stumbled on this view. I was charmed.

6. After Paris it was time for some good ol' country life. This also led to a few side trips, which led to ridiculously charming views, in ridiculously charming villages. France is charming.

7. This is where I'm lucky enough to call home (in France).

8. That is not a painting, I swear. Coulon in the Marais is a sweet little village with some pretty great views. It is also the home of a cafe that will serve an entire baked camembert on top of a salad. I ate the whole thing.

Well friends, that's me. I'm going to spend the next couple days getting over this jet lag, but I'll be back soon, and hopefully with something tasty to share!

Link Love-In: The Paris Edition

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Surprise! There's going to be no Farm Fresh for the next two weeks because I'm in France this week (and feeling so gosh darn lucky to be here!) and next week is Canadian Thanksgiving. That means that on both occasions where I'm supposed to be showing you all the lovely fresh veg I've got to work with over the next week, I'm actually stuffing my face full of delightful treats.  This week is all about rich cheeses and flaky croissants, and next week it's pumpkin pie and gravy coated potatoes. Ooooh baby! And in week three, I'll be wearing bulky sweaters and flawy skirts to hide it all. I can't wait!

Anyyywayyyy.... As I said, I'm in France right now! I had the luxury of spending the last two days in Paris with two very dear friends of mine, caught up with old friends from my days of living in Amsterdam, and now I'm lounging in the Poitou-Charantes region soaking up some country life.  Yes, it's as charming as it sounds. Yes, my intent is to make you jealous.

Actually, that's not true. Jealousy is not my angle. I heart you all.

In lieu of a regular post we're going to check out some sweet links that may or may not be thematic.

They are totally thematic.

Enjoy!

These maps to "secret" Paris are just great! I would like to get lost in every one of them. (via Messy Nessy Chic)

Oh, were this my apartment... (via This is Glamorous)

I'm a wanderer when I travel. I feel like they made this for me. (via Kevin and Amanda)

This in-depth about Paris, centred on the Seine is full of interesting facts and tidbits. Oh the things those divers must find! (via National Geographic)

Poitiers, France

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Dudes, news flash. France is old. Like OLD old. Never have I been more aware of that fact than when hanging out in the Poitou-Charantes region.  History is oozing everywhere you look.  It's pretty spectacular.

Poitiers takes in all of that old and in turn radiates with all the appeal that can bring.

Lonely Planet has a great, and succinct write up on the history of the city: Inland from the coast, the cobblestone city of Poitiers is packed with history. Founded by the Pictones, a Gaulish tribe, it is the former capital of Poitou, the region governed by the Counts of Poitiers in the Middle Ages. A pivotal turning point came in AD 732, when somewhere near Poitiers (the exact site is not known) the cavalry of Charles Martel defeated the Muslim forces of Abd ar-Rahman, governor of Córdoba, thus ending Muslim attempts to conquer France. The Romans built up the city and various ruins can be found around the city.

A day out in the city offers up a lot to see and explore. One of the easiest way to discover the sites is to follow one of three Chemins de Notre Dame, a series of self-guided walking tours that are marked by a continuous coloured line. All of the walks start at Notre Dame la Grande, the central cathedral, take about 1.5 - 2 hours to complete, and loop back so that you also finish at Notre Dame.  

On our day out there, we mixed things up a bit as we already had some sense of what we wanted to see. Instead of focusing on just one of the walks, we picked at certain parts of two of them.

We started in the centre of the old town at Notre Dame la Grande (built in the second half of the 11th century), and then continued on to Musee Saint Croix, one of two musuems in town.  The museum focuses on both art and archeology, with the archeology section including traces and exhibits from Prehistory to the Middle Ages.

Next up we were off to discover the Place de la liberte. This unassuming square was once the residing place of Poitiers guillotines during the revolution.  Now, it holds a miniature, replica, Statue of Liberty which was cast by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the very same man who designed the original. 

With dinner plans at some local friends, we had just enough time for an espresso before we headed out. 

If you're in the region, be sure to stop in to the old town of Poitiers and lose yourself in all that ancient!

Chateau de La Roche-Courbon

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First real travel post! yay! Let's get some culture up in here.

The last time I was in this region of France, we went to visit the Chateau de La Rochefoucauld, and without realizing it (until it was too late, and we felt like fools) met Lady Rochefoucauld and had a very pleasant chat in her front garden.

This time around, I didn't meet the Lady (or Lord) Roche-Courbon, but I did ramble around their former grounds for the better part of 2 hours, and what a place it was!

The castle was built around 1475 by Jehan de Latour, on site which had been inhabited since prehistoric times. In the 17th century, the Courbon family, which had occupied the castle for two centuries, transformed the castle into a more comfortable residence. More alterations were made in the 18th century, but the castle was eventually sold in 1817 and then abandoned. It was purchased in 1920 by Paul Chénereau, who restored the castle and its gardens. The castle is still owned and inhabited by his descendants (source)

We missed the last tour to see the inside of the chateau (it is still a private residence, so tours are required to see inside and happen twice per day), but the grounds were expansive enough that we spent a full afternoon wandering.

During the summer you can tell that the gardens would have been absolutely spectacular.  Even now, the signs of spring were bringing small hits of colour.  The gardens are listed by the French Ministry of Culture under their "Gardens of Note" and it's easy to see why.  Apple trees were grafted into benches, and they have their own grotto that is the home to many fascinating caves.

Apple trees!

We started up at the chateau end and made our way across and around the man made river/lake system (fed by the River Bruant), which is extraordinarily expansive, these photos show about 1/10 of it.

Circling around the far side and coming face to face with the most charming grounds keepers quarters I've ever seen, we continued on down to the grotto to get a glimpse of what was what. 

Grounds keepers quarters

According to this website, "the Grotte Château de La Roche Courbon (caves of the Chateau La Roche Courbon) are numerous rather small caverns located south of the castle at the foot of a limestone cliff. The caves were used by prehistoric man and numerous remains were found in the caves, hence the caves are often referenced as les grottes préhistoriques...The caves were inhabited in palaeolithic times during the Mousterian, Aurinacian and Magdalenian periods, from 120,000 to 10.000 BC."

Cool, right?

If you're interested, a more detailed history of the chateau and its gardens can be found here.

The Food of France

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Call me crazy, but I really like my food to taste like food.  And France totally gets that about me, the entire country pulls together and delivers fresh, beautiful, tastes-like-food food.  And for that, I thank it.

Having just spent a week in rural France, I got to be floored by how awesome the food there is everyday.  It was a food lovers paradise.  In Canada (or Ontario, at least) vast amounts of food are discarded before even getting to the store because it doesn't look right (the tomatoes aren't round, or the carrots are too fat!) The waste breaks my food-loving heart. Mud on produce is okay (it comes from the ground!).  Misshapen produce is great (why do veggies need to be more perfect than people?).  France gets it, and that is devine. 

Just look at this bread. It's perfect. It's hearty. It's love.

This butter changes lives.  I don't generally butter my bread because I don't find it adds much.  This butter however I could practically eat by the spoonful.  It has chunks of sea salt in it that create the most drool-worthy taste.  The only way I can think to portray how good it is, is tell you that i would liberally spread this on my croissants in the morning - yes, even the freshest, most buttery croissant would be lathered in this stuff. I'm telling you, life changer.

 No post about french food is complete without cheese (and some saucisse l'ancienne thrown in for good measure!) There's the obvious brie (no trip is complete without!), the orange rinded fellow is a creamy and mild Port-Salut, and that gorgeous beast in the front is a stinky (but delicious!) Pont L'Eveque.  Any one, or all, of these and a baguette and I am good to go!

Seriously, look at that produce. Are those tomatoes not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen!?

You could smell these strawberries from across the store (literally, it was major). Naturally we picked up and entire crate of them.

Put it all together and you get lunch! The loveliest, simplest, most satisfying lunch.

Bonne Maman Yogurt! It was love at first sight. 

Aren't these beautiful? I didn't actually drink them, I just snapped them while passing by in a market, they are all lemonades and the colours are stunning!

I cannot believe I didn't get a picture of the (many) baguettes and croissants I ate each day.  Perhaps a testament to how tasty they were? But you should know that if you're ever in the region and happen upon the tiny little hamlet of Paizay-Naudouin-Embourie, may I recommend the croissants.  You'd be hard pressed to find better!