Chateau de Chenonceau

Another day of exploration=perfection in my book!

About a month ago we ventured out to another area of France and our first stop was Chateau de Chenonceau (point A on the map). Other than the Chateau de Versailles, it is said to be the most visited castle in France. It was built between 1515-1521 over a bridge of the Cher River and was nicknamed "Chateau des Dames" (Castle of the Ladies) due to the strong history of the women who lived there. 

 I really enjoyed that this castle allows you to see areas of daily life, like the kitchen, the fireplace where bread was baked, and the butcher room. They even had fires going in some of the fireplaces which was fabulous since it was a cold, rainy day!!!

The castle wasn't as "grand" as the Palace of Versailles but I really enjoyed seeing all of the tapestries and architecture! The grand gallery was one of my favorite parts of the castle.

A couple of interesting facts-during the First World War the owner turned over the chateau for use as a hospital for the injured; and during the second World War, one end of the castle's gallery was in the Occupied Zone and the other in French Free Territory- and this corridor between the two zones was used to move people between them. 

After visiting the castle we went for lunch in a restaurant that was built into rock, which is typical of places in the area. As we were driving you could see homes built into the side of the cliffs. It was quite impressive.

Lunch consisted of a starter, main plate and desserts. I chose the salmon for a starter, one of my favs!

The desserts all looked great and between all of us there was quite a variety.

After lunch we continued on to the city of Tours (point B on the map). This is the city that one of our nieces lives and attends school. We spent some time walking around the city and my favorite part was the "old" area with some really great style of buildings.

We were also able to see the cathedral before ending our walking tour.

We finished the evening making sushi with the family and hanging out at our niece's apartment. It was another great, adventurous day!!!

Christmas is getting close!!!

I was walking around the grocery store the other day and it was the first real sign that Christmas was approaching. I love the Christmas markets here in France but without snow and lots of lights and decorations everywhere it feels a little low on the "wow" factor.

Here are some of the common goods waiting for you if you want to come grocery shop in France with me!

Foie Gras

Bûche de Nöel

Ferrero Rocher and Kinder=some of the most beloved chocolates

The Kinder Surprise are a BIG hit with the little people. 

The sight of Christmas makes me oh so happy, especially since we have some VIP visitors arriving right after Christmas!!!

Thanksgiving recap

I know that Thanksgiving feels like forever ago, especially with Christmas just around the corner but I wanted to share a tidbit of our celebration here in France.

This was the 2nd year that I prepared a full Thanksgiving meal and it was a success. While I love to cook and bake, for the big holidays back home I often brought one of the simple items needed, like buns! So to be responsible for the FULL meal is a new role for me!!!

The menu:
Turkey
Mashed potatoes and gravy
stuffing
Green bean casserole
Baguettes (from the bakery)
Pumpkin pie
Apple pie

So to most of you back home this seems like a simple menu without much difficulty to execute! Oh so not the case! The first obstacle is to find all of the ingredients! Thankfully prior to returning to France this fall I had a light bulb moment in which I remembered how difficult it was to find ingredients last year. So, thanks to my grandma I returned to France with some of the basic essentials: canned pumpkin, cream of mushroom soup, and stuffing mix.
In spite of having these ingredients, I still had to make a trip to the American store to get a cooking bag for the turkey and also picked up one of the 1-time-use thermometers. To give you a point of reference, had I needed to buy pumpkin or other items, you can guarantee multiplying the cost by about 5 of what you pay for it in the states.
Now for the turkey...last year we learned how difficult it can be to secure a full turkey. Yes turkeys exist in France but they are a typical item for Christmas so to request one a month in advance is not the norm! Thankfully James took care of this and was able to order the turkey from the same store as last year. The cost 50 Euros for 10kg (which is about $70 for 20 pounds). The other interesting factor for the turkey both years is the question of will it fit in the oven?! The answer has been yes, both years, but just barely!

Comparing size and ready to dig in!

The rest of the preparation went great! The pies and side dishes turned out well! Everyone reports enjoying the meal and there were few leftovers remaining, which is a very good sign!

I of course would love to celebrate this holiday in the US and enjoy having the days off of work to share with family, but I am very grateful that my family here in France joins in my excitement and helps me to celebrate the American holiday!