
Photos & links from Joules Clothing
A rambling about the interesting, the French and the travel bug.
Serge Bastarde Ate My Baguette - On the Road in the Real Rural France
'I found Serge's advice mostly useful and it would have been churlish to have refused his invitation to accompany him on a trip out in the country to 'forage for hidden treasures'. If the truth be known, I secretly couldn't resist the novelty of passing time with a bloke called Serge Bastarde'.
"When ex-blues drummer John Dummer decamps to France to start up as an antiques dealer and live the simple life, he doesn't count on meeting Serge Bastarde. The lovable (if improbably named) rogue and brocanteur offers to teach John the tricks of the trade in return for his help in a series of breathtakingly unscrupulous schemes. As the pair trawl through antiques markets and old farmhouses looking for hidden treasure, they get into more than their fair share of scrapes: whether they're conning hearty lunches from unsuspecting old peasants, secretly manufacturing priceless collectibles or losing a Stradivarius to gypsies. A hilarious romp through the real rural France, filled with eccentric characters, high jinks and unlikely adventures."
Ironically, having just finished the book, I stumbled across the wonderful website "My French Country Brocante" which gives francophiles like me who live so far from France an opportunity to flex the credit card muscles and deck out their own little French Country Homes.
An expensive hobby yes, but so worth it! (I tend to say that phrase a lot in my posts ...!)
A champagne that is supposed to be consumed on the rocks? Don’t panic! The idea of drinking Champagne on the rocks is a practice that is common in Europe and the Mediterranean. The French even have a word for it, piscine, which roughly translates to the idea of plunging into a pool.
For the first time ever though, this champagne is especially formulated to be exclusively served over ice as a cocktail – “With Ice Moët Impérial, Moët & Chandon creates new opportunity to drink Champagne", says Moët & Chandon Chef de Cave, Benoit Gouez.
But, don't forget to check out the shops and restaurants along the way on both sides of the narrow steep alleys on the way up to the Abbey!