French Hospital Food

Imagine that you’re in a French hospital.  Now imagine that you’ve already had one relatively small surgery and will be having two more operations within the next few days.  Imagine you’re in a lot of pain, you’re scared,  and you don’t understand much of what the nurses and doctors say to you.  Imagine that you haven’t been [...]

Cuisine à L’Ancienne

I love making dishes that have gone out of fashion, either because they’re too much work, require hard-to-find ingredients, or both.  Here, in Confiture de Pastèque, or watermelon jam, we have both.
We tasted a mysterious treat last summer while staying at a chambre d’hôte in Provence.  Spread on toast and with a flavor that was evocative [...]

A Friend Indeed

Way back at the end of January I wrote A Friend In Need.  And it’s taken all of that time for Zazou to find her way into our life, but now here she is, in all of her funny-faced, crooked-tail glory.  I’ve been waiting to unveil her, waiting to be sure that Beppo agrees with [...]

One Step Back

Even after spending a week in the sunny south, Bretagne is still on my mind.  There’s just one more thing I want to tell you about, before we let that trip slip into the pleasant past, and that’s the Île de Bréhat.  It’s a step back in time, maybe even two or three steps, and [...]

Playing Catsup

As we all know, eating exotic foods is one of the best parts of travel.  But for the less-travelled rat, eating mashed potatoes from a friendly fingertip is as good as a vacation, and much more of a sure thing.

Not counting mashed potatoes, I always find it hard to eat enough vegetables when traveling.  It’s so [...]

Signs Of The Times

We’re home now, luggage strewn willy-nilly, heaps of socks begging to be washed, and lots of pictures and thoughts from our travels still to be shared.  So, if you don’t mind,  we’ll have a couple of wrap-up, round-up type days, before I return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
One thing that always catches my fancy when travelling is funny signs.  [...]

It’s A Hard Rock Life

“I am a rock,

I am an island.”

“Like a rolling stone,

like a complete unknown.”

“Rock me, baby,

rock me all night long.”

“Rock of ages,

cleft for me.”

“Gonna rock around the clock tonight,

rock rock rock ’til broad daylight,

gonna rock, gonna rock,

around the clock tonight.”

In A Maritime Mood

I’ll show you my sardine if you’ll show me yours.
I’m sure it’s a sign of weirdness, but most of the souvenirs we’ve bought have been of a sardinical nature.  Cans of sardines packed in all sorts of exotic spices and sauces are everywhere here, and right now a substantial number of them are occupying the [...]

Bon Appétit, Bretagne!

Bretagne is the land of plenty, seafood-wise.  Just take this plate.  In addition to the whole crab, the oysters, the langoustines, the bigorneaux snails and the shrimp, under this pile of treats, undiscovered by the camera, lies a heap of the larger snails called bulots, and clams.  And this was served to me and me alone, as [...]

The Mystery And The Magic

What were our Neolithic ancestors thinking, 6000 years ago, when they stood stones on end all over Europe?  It’s hard not to wonder. 
I’ve almost become used to living among Roman ruins, which are so eloquent in their longlasting beauty.  We know, because they wrote about it, what the Romans were thinking as they constructed their extensive roads and [...]