After a quiet and restful sleep in the cool mountain air, we awoke to fresh croissants and tea for breakfast. Since we had gone to bed before my friend’s parents returned from their night of dancing, this was also our first opportunity to meet our lovely hosts.  Her mother was already busy cooking our delicious lunch as it was going to take much of the morning to prepare, and the kitchen smelled incredible. 

Once breakfast was complete, we changed into hiking clothes and headed off on our short drive through the town of Mandailles to climb a mountain called Col de Pertus. It was a steep hike through trees eventually leading into a meadow with some amazing views of the region.  I hate to admit it but I was not able to make it to the top of the mountain and had to stop just short of the last steep climb.  My son, of course practically ran up the trail while I found a place to wait and shoot some photos of the beautiful scenery. The walk down the mountain was much easier and allowed for some interesting political and other discussions including how hungry we were feeling after all that work. On the drive back, we stopped for a quick walk in the small village of Mandailles and then picked up some sausages, cheese and fruit that had been ordered for our lunch.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We returned to the farm, washed up and helped set the outdoor table while our hostess finished cooking the sausages, some carrots and the special treat of the day – Truffade!! Truffade is the regional dish of the mountains of Auvergne and is made with potatoes and cheese; a lot of a very specific cheese which melts and becomes ooey & gooey and tastes absolutely delicious. This is NOT for the diet conscious but we were on vacation and I had left all my dietary restrictions at home for this trip. Also included in the feast was some sweet melon and fresh baked bread which is standard for all meals in France.  A cheese course (a must at all French meals) and dessert followed and we had eaten enough to not only satisfy our hunger but were in need of a long walk to digest it all.

A short while later we packed our bags, said goodbye to our gracious hosts and were on the road headed back to Limoges with a stop for coffee and exploring in the medieval town of Salers.

Back to our home base in Limoges, we enjoyed Aperol spritzes before a dinner of pasta, foie gras, bread and some beautiful wine.  It had been a perfect day!!!

The friends we were staying with in Limoges had some personal responsibilities over the next few days and so we had Friday morning to wander on our own in the city of Limoges before another friend picked us up in the afternoon for a two day adventure in the mountains of Auvergne which is in the Massif Centrale.

There is no doubt that we had been eating well thus far in our travels, but what we had lacked was variety.  Don’t get me wrong, the food was delicious and we enjoyed it, but it became a bit too much meat, butter, cheese and bread after more than a week of it.  I can’t even believe I just wrote that considering I’ve always said that I could live on bread, cheese & wine; clearly it’s not true. So, after a lazy morning, we made our way into the town to shop for some souvenirs and then stopped for an espresso at the Fabrique du Café where we lingered for quite a while just watching people and in no particular rush.

After walking around and browsing through shops for a while, we were hungry and decided to make our way to Vemillion, the Sri Lankan restaurant our friend had recommended so we could introduce a little change to our palates.  My son ordered Samosas and Tandoori Chicken with Cabbage and I opted for the Vegetarian Thali (pronounced Thaa-LEE), which is a South Indian traditional large plate that is filled with small portions of a variety of different foods.  We rounded out the meal with an order of Garlic Naan and a half bottle of white wine.  And yes, we asked for the food to be extra spicy since the owner mentioned they cook it very mild for the French.  Not only was the food quite good (not as good as homemade), but my taste buds felt like they’d come out of dormancy.

My son enjoyed the ground beef samosas with hot chili pickle as well as the tender and flavorful chicken.  My thali included potatoes cooked in a tangy tomato sauce, stewed eggplant which had been cooked in spices with tamarind, sautéed spinach, pakoras (fritters), a spicy & delicious lentil daal and basmati rice.  The daal was definitely my favorite but I enjoyed every morsel on the plate.  Too full for dessert or coffee, we made our way back to our temporary home and packed up for our overnight journey.

Our friend picked us up in the late afternoon and we began our drive to her parents’ home in Cantal, Auvergne. As we drove, she filled us in on some history of her town, told us about her family and the family farm, talked about politics (as most French enjoy doing), and enjoyed the sights around us.  We stopped at the town of Aurillac, where she attended university, pulling in just as France won the world cup match against Belgium which was cause for much celebration around us.  Aurillac is known for its craftsmanship in umbrellas and all around you there are umbrella shops and alleys with umbrellas hanging from the sky.  These are not the umbrellas you buy for $2 at Penn Station in New York City.  One can see the quality in these handmade versions that start at prices around 75 Euros and go into the hundreds depending on fabric and design. After stopping for a leisurely cup of coffee and soda, we picked up a couple of pizzas from a pizzeria in town and some wine from a local shop (Chateau De Lancyre Pic Saint Loup) from a region I’d never tried before, and continued our drive to Cantal.

We arrived at my friend’s family farm around 8pm and decided to do some exploring after we had settled in a bit.  Her parents were out for the evening dancing with friends, and it felt good to stretch our legs in the quiet of the mountains after so many days in large cities.  My son was happy to run around and goof off in the wilderness and have things to climb on to just for the fun of it.  Once hunger set in, we warmed up the pizza, made a salad of tomatoes & shallots and ate outside on the picnic bench enjoying the drastic change in our atmosphere.  The pizza was ok, the tomatoes were delicious and the wine very good.  I am still amazed at how much good wine can be found in France for less than 10 Euros. After another walk to digest our dinner, we set off to bed for some rest from our long day.

Today was a day of work for me.  I consider myself very fortunate that I’m able to work remotely while traveling which allows me to take such a long trip and break a day each week for work.  We still managed to get out to a wonderful restaurant for dinner with a few friends.  The restaurant specializes in local beef which is aged on the property and is incredibly flavorful.  My son was happy with his steak and our friends all ordered the “Riz de Veau” which we found out is the throat meat of veal.  As much as I wanted to try some, I just could not get the nerve to do so and ate my asparagus and foie gras instead.

It’s about a 2 hour drive from Limoges to Brantome which is a beautiful town in the Perigueux region known for its foie gras and truffles.  Our friend was kind enough to drive us and give us a tour of the old monastery built near natural caves formed in the mountains.  The town is peaceful and we enjoyed strolling and looking in all the shops for souvenirs.  The highlight of the trip though was the restaurant our friend took us to for lunch called Charbonnel.  We were seated on the outside terrace overlooking the river Drone on a beautifully set table.  The staff was wonderful and made us feel very welcome.  After taking our order, they brought us some savory canapes of cannelle, cheese madeleines and a melon soup.  We enjoyed each course of the meal which was beautifully executed, was perfectly cooked and seasoned.  I hope the photos below do some justice.  Needless to say, my dinner that night was a yogurt as I was still full from this lovely experience.

Canapes

Kir Charbonnel

Monastery

Fresh sweet cheese with apricots

Salad with crispy duck

Cold soup with Shrimp

Fresh berries with a light mousse & ice cream

Grilled Duck Breast

Roasted Salmon & Salmon Tartare

Dessert Canapes

A relaxing day of strolls through the local streets and markets, browsing through epiceries, stopping at a cafe on whim, and getting lost in the local culture of this city known for its fine porcelain products.  All meals shared on our friends’ terrace and prepared at home.