A few good meals

This is the season to eat; to store fat for survival through the upcoming winter as did our ancestors starting with prehistoric man. Well, anyway that's one excuse for the Thanksgiving and chili fests we organized. We hosted 80 friends and prepared 2 - 8 pound turkeys and almost 50 pounds of chili over 3 days, not to mention 2 gallons of margaritas. It was a great time and perhaps we'll start preparing next year's event in January!

Chef Bill

(Jacques Nicolini)

I've decided to try to learn the basics of French cooking and signed up for a 3 month class with the Universite Populaire here in Uzes. The location alternates between the classroom, where chef Jacques Nicolini presents the theory behind classic French cuisine as well as history, regulations and anecdotes, and Jacques' home in nearby Aubussargues where we do the "hands on". Our first recipe was a "Tarte au Pomme", which was delicious. Future classes will feature "Canard a l'Orange" and "Foie Gras". It's a class where I look forward to the homework.

(Bill's Tarte au Pomme)

Visit to the Chateau in Uzes

Gisele and the Duke de Crussol d'Uzes

Chateau d'Uzes

Sunday Sept. 20 was this year's "Journee du Patrimoine" in France which is when most public monuments have free admission, and many private chateaux and domains can only be visited on this one day a year. We took the opportunity to view the Chateau d'Uzes in the center of our town. It's very impressive with structural parts dating back 1000 years and still occupied by descendants of the original family.

On the grounds of the Chateau d'Uzes

After the visit to the chateau we went to the "Jardin Medieval" in Uzes which is a garden containing plants which existed in homes during the Middle Ages.

10th Anniversary in Uzes

10 years ago today we were in the notaire's office with Mr. Feignier, the previous owner of our Mas, signing the paperwork to complete the purchase. It was scary then and at times it still is but we don't feel that we could've found a better property nor village or region. It's been a great ride and let's hope for many more years together.

Summer in Carry-le-Rouet

We're very fortunate to have Gisele's family summer home outside of Marseille in Carry-le-Rouet. It's our go-to place when Uzes is rented in the summer. Carry is a beautiful small town on the Mediterranean with mostly rocky beaches and picture postcard scenic views. Most of our meals consist of the daily catch and so are quite different from Uzes. This could be swordfish, tuna, makerel or sardines, usually on the grill. Also Gisele & her mom pool their talents for a delicious bouillabaise made from the rockfish found only along the coast near Marseille. It's delicious!

A Visit To a Bridge

While our house was rented last week we decided to take the time to explore the region of Aveyron northwest of us. it was about a 2 1/2 hour drive to the first stop at St. Jean de Bruel where we found a very nice B&B and excellent restaurant, taking their last available table. The Aveyron has a reputation as a gastronomic delight with reasonable prices for delicious preparations. We were not disappointed that first night with a scrumptious appetizer of cepe mushrooms in parsley and main course of Magret d'Oie at the Hotel du Midi. The vacation was off to a good beginning.



The following day we set of to visit the Viaduct du Millau a multi span bridge of 2.4Km over the Tarn River.

A trip to this area would not be complete without a visit to the famous caves of Roquefort. A delicious creamy world famous blue cheese is refined within this town. It's an interesting visit finished with a tasting.

We also discovered the Aven D'Armand which consists of caverns of stalagtites & Stalagmites different than those in most other caverns. Many are like pancakes stacked over thousands of years. It's a similar environment with different formations than those found in Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.

We made a deal

Our friend Marie Christine(aka Titine) is visiting from Paris this week and had a request. She had a urge to eat Texas Chili, drink margaritas and finish a meal with a genuine New York Cheescake. Knowing that Titine is an excellent cook I asked for her to prepare her world famous paella. I made out the best as we can see from the photos(I was a little late taking a photo of the cheesecake).

(L to R: Gisele, Malcolm, Regina, Bill, Felice, Larry, Marie Christine)

Texas Chili Chez Nous

What can be better on a day of 90 degree (32C) heat than some good old Texas Chili. We make it without beans, just chopped beef and spices topped with genuine cheddar cheese from the USA...yummmm. Of course, what would go well as an aperitif but a pitcher of homemade maragaritas made with Jose Cuervo gold tequila in Bill's own recipe.

(counterclockwise around the table starting with Gisele then Sarah (Debora's mom), Delphine (Debora's daughter), Malcolm, Bill, Stephan (Delphine's husband), France, Esther (Delphine's daughter), Debora. In other words 4 generations plus us & Malcolm)

We eat very well!

It seems that the majority of our posting revolve around food. I'm not complaining, but just stating a fact.
There are some delicious ethnic local specialties which, although available in nearby restaurants, are so much better when prepared by friends for friends. This is the case with the Valencia Paella from Antoine & Esther as well as delicious Armenian specialties from Alice & Jean and thick hearty Pot au Feu from Armand & Keiko.

Without a doubt we eat very well here and, joking aside(yeah, I know it shows), it's not difficult to have a good meal here considering the ready availability of fresh locally grown ingredients as well as huge Saturday market for that and much more.

Dinner at Lisa M's in Vers

Lisa M is one of our favorite restaurants near Uzes. It's a "menu unique" and depends a great deal on local farmers for each day's offerings. Our friends visiting from Calgary, Giselle & Marco, set up an amazing evening amongst good friends that will not be forgotten.

Lunch at Malcolm's

It's nice to have good friends and even nicer if they can cook. Lunch at Malcolm's beautiful home in St. Laurent La Vernede is always a delicious experience with excellent "aperos" around a bit of bubbly followed by a wonderful meal & wine in delightful company. Thanks again Malcolm.

Goodbye Alfred....

It's sad to post the passing of a good friend Alfred Gimenez here in Uzes on April 13. We'd spent some good times together at wonderful meals, parties and knocking a few little white balls off the tee. His culinary talent made for some of the most delicious paella ever tasted. He will be missed.

Happy 100th Irene!

Today we went to the small town of Rognonas near Avignon to visit with Irene Wozniak & her son Jacques. Irene is Gisele's mom Therese's aunt & she celebrated her 100th birthday April 1 with a huge celebration amongst family & friends. It was great to see that she's still in good health and her usual cheerful self.

Back home in Uzes

Just a quick note on the blog to say we arrived well and safe in Uzes. 21 hours between Dallas & Uzes! Our only problem at the moment is we have no wifi so I'm writing this from an internet cafe in Uzes.

Dallas!

Only a couple of days left before we head back to France, so we took a tour of Dallas. One of the largest exhibits of bronze statuary as well as a magnificent representation of a cattle drive is in the downtown area.

The Road Home

It's April 1 and we've seen drivers who've had worse problems than us here in Amarillo, Texas. They seem to have fallen from the sky! Seriously it's the famous Cadillac Ranch along Highway 40 just west of Amarillo created by a colorful local Stanley Marsh 3.

Leaving Arizona

Today Saturday March 28 is our last day here at El Mirage. It's been a wonderful month and we've made many new friendships and renewed old ones. The last few days were filled with parties, shopping and finishing projects in the activities rooms. We're not sure if we'll be returning next year although it will be difficult not to.

A Favorite Restaurant

Sunday the 22nd we had dinner at a wonderful Mexican Restaurant in downtown Phoenix called The Barrio Cafe. Delicious nouveau Mexican cuisine with a 12 hour pork dish, fresh guacamole, and mouth watering chile rellenos. We decided to skip the organic margaritas this time since it was at the end of a long day but did opt for a delicious dessert flan.

More Golf...Of Course

Another day of trying to perfect my play. It was a beautiful warm sunny day and we spent the afternoon on the links. Did 9 holes before the knee gave out and then to the pool & hot tub. The course here at El Mirage was designed by Fuzzy Zoeller a well known pro famous for his hijinks on the golf course. It's very well organized but with many water hazards. (We'll be asking for contributions to a golfball fund in the near future).

Desert Botanical Gardens

Phoenix is a very dry desert region with many varieties of plant life notably cactus. Driving in the area, you cannot help but notice the large Saguero, a hallmark of western movies and native to this part of the country. With this in mind we decided to explore the Desert Botanical Gardens here in Phoenix. At the present time there is an exhibit by well known glass artist Dale Patrick Chihuly. We arrived in the afternoon and stayed into the evening to view the exhibit in the light, at dusk and at night. It was an incredible melange of desert plantings and artistic free form glass sculpture.

Of Course - Golf!

It was a beautiful warm sunny day March 4 and we decided to do 9 holes on the beautiful El Mirage Golf Club. Bill had his beautiful French chauffeur Gisele with her European golf cart license to deliver him to the result of his various drives so it made perfect sense to make the afternoon as long as possible...which it was. We had a very nice afternoon and much needed exercise after which we headed to the heated pool followed by the hot tub.

Settled in for a month in El Mirage, Arizona

We are parked at our favorite campground in El Mirage, Arizona northwest of Phoenix. We arrived on Feb. 25 after visiting friends & family near Los Angeles. It's been an interesting trip despite sad news of the passing of loved ones and several problems with our RV which have hopefully been resolved.




We arrived in the New York area Jan. 9 after being delayed a day due to a freak snowstorm in Marseille which closed the airport, canceling our flight. We spent the first weekend with Bill's sister Linda & her family in Bayonne, NJ. and then headed up to Connecticut to stay with Carol in Westport. It was good catching up with friends & Gisele's cousins during our yearly pilgrimage despite several snowstorms.
We headed back to Bayonne the last weekend in the northeast Thurs. Jan. 22 and were glad to spend some time with Linda's mother-in-law Fran Resnick before she passed away Feb. 16. We also had a nice visit with Bill's cousin Annette several days before her mom passed away in Florida.















Upon arrival in Dallas on Jan. 26 we picked up our RV and after a fierce ice storm and frozen roads headed towards Houston, first to pick up our mail and then to renew Gisele's green card which had expired the previous October. We rented a car there to more easily visit the area and Galveston. The devastation was still evident along the coast from September's Hurricane Ike. We had lunch there at Fisherman's Wharf along the Gulf of Mexico. The red snapper & New England clam chowder were excellent.









After our meeting with immigrations and papers filed we headed to Austin. Along the way, stopping for lunch, we were unable to shut off the engine of the RV. We contacted our mechanic and met him along the route to Dallas. He made some adjustments and we started out again, although this time we were too far from Austin so started our westward journey to California. After driving a few hours we stopped again and experienced the same problem. We decided to find a Cummins dealer/mechanic(the engine manufacturer) and stopped in Odessa, Texas. They determined that the installed part was defective and had a new one sent from Dallas the following day. After 2 days in Odessa we again headed west to Tucson to spend some time with our friend Margarita. We visited the historic mission of San Xavier and went to a great brunch with a live Mariachi band at la Fuente.
After a week there we headed to California only to experience the previous problem again. This time we made it to San Diego and put ourselves in the hands of the Cummins dealer there. Fortunately we have friends there who would put up with us. First there were Regina and Larry in beautiful Newport Beach who despite some serious health issues showed us a wonderful time and made delicious homemade meals, then it was Bill's friend Jim and his s/o Janet who did the same for a couple of days. The RV repairs took longer than expected so we then took our rental car up to Laughlin, Nevada for 4 days. Had a wonderful time, delicious meals and a free room for our entire stay. After 12 days we headed back to San Diego at 7am to pick up our hopefully repaired RV. Thankfully it was done!


We started out again and 2 hours outside of San Diego the same problem happened!!! We called San Diego Cummins and they gave us a dealer in Phoenix to check it out. After spending most of the day there, some adjustments were made and we headed to our campground in El Mirage where we plan to spend a month soaking up the sun & 85 degrees every day. It's our 5th year back and it's good to catch up with friends we've made during that time. We go swimming every day and Bill is back to his woodcarving & golf while Gisele spends her time at ceramic painting, Qi Gong and country dance. We ride our bikes thru the park and rent a car on weekends to visit the area and shop.