Bon Appetit!

It is so satisfying to make something yourself, and even more so when you can eat it! In Paris I had a fabulous time making (and eating) my very own croissants and other French breakfast pastries. It was a very enjoyable 3 hour class right in the centre of Paris and in English too, which was more than a bit helpful. With some clever organisation (dough prepared at different stages) we were able to have a go at making the croissants from start to finish - 49 layers of dough and butter in all! I should now be able to make them on my own, although it would be helpful to have a go sooner rather than later, so that I can remember all the tricks of the trade. We ended making 5 different sweet treats including croissant, pain au chocolat, windmills and baskets, custard and raisin pinwheels, and delicious custard and chocolate thingys which I can't remember the name of. Did I mention that we made our own very scrumptious custard from scratch as well? I wish you could have been in the room when our pastries were done, even just for the smell! At the end of class, Phil and I sat in the garden outside Notre Dame and sampled the tasty creations - divine.

The patisseries have definitely been a highlight of our time in France and we have been doing our best to taste test a range of these tasty little pieces of art. We have also been making the most of the fabulous boulangeries (bread bakeries) that are found on nearly every street corner. It feels very French to be walking down the street clutching a baguette wrapped in paper.

And lastly, we have been very fortunate to enjoy some wonderful home-cooking during our time in France. We had some wonderful couchsufring hosts who absolutely delighted our taste buds. It's a special thing to eat and stay with local people. Needless to say, the clothes are feeling a bit tighter.... Bon Appetit!

Our first stop in France was to Dunkirk. We visited a museum about "Operation Dynamo" and walked along the beach.

We also visited the Commonwealth War Memorial in Northern France. If you look closely you can see thousands of names inscribed on the walls.

Versailles Palace in the the Hall of Mirrors. It was fun to see Marie Antoinette's room too.

The gardens at Versailles are ridiculously large and grand. It takes an hour to walk from one end to the other in a straight line! Very cool place to visit.

Croissant making in Paris

Voila! - I made them!

Phil outside Notre Dame, Paris.

A spot of track clearing on one of our off-road expeditions.

We visited plenty of gorgeous little French villages along the way. Love the wooden shutters!

We spent a good chunk of our time in Provence, this is a typical rural scene.

We splashed out for a nice meal out in the city of Lyon. We had the dish of the day (Confit Duck) and the house wine. It was a golden experience.

In southern France we camped a night at a goat farm. The owner milks 200 goats twice a day on her own, to send to a local factory that makes goats cheese.

A home that we stayed in (through Couchsurfing) in the very quaint village of Lauris, Provence - amazing!

Having breakfast on the roof terrace of the house with our hosts the following morning. You could see the terracotta rooftops of the whole village from up there.

We visited a special garden filled with plants used in traditional dying. Here I am making paint from the natural plant dyes.  

Beautiful but narrow streets of Lauris, Provence. Such fun to explore!

We managed to find some of Phil's relatives in Provence and they took us to visit the family Olive Grove. I picked a bunch of the wild Rosemary and Thyme that was growing everywhere.

Driving through Monte Carlo we pulled over for a quick dip in the sea. Very refreshing as it was 30 Degrees Celsius.

From there we headed towards Italy over the mountains and the view was unreal!

We got so high we went into cloud. It was a chilly night camping at the top, but we were rewarded in the morning with the most amazing clear views.