Remembering...

 

Floating down the Seine - Sippin' cider, eating cheese

After Monet's garden, there really weren't any big tours (at least not for me). On Sunday, I saw the Bayeux Tapestry and wandered around the village in the morning. Not a whole lot of fun, because it was cool and rainy. We each had a handheld audio guide, which we could pause but not rewind. It took us through the tapestry rather quickly, and we weren't allowed to take photos.

After lunch, we stopped in a village called Beuvron-en-Auge that looked like it could have been a movie set. Unfortunately, my camera battery had died in Bayeux, but I was able to take a few photos with my iPhone.

What I found amusing was that many of the stores were closed between noon and 2:00 p.m., but weren't locked, and often the doors weren't even closed.

After that we went toured a dairy where they made Livarot and Pont-L'Évêque cheese and were able to taste them. Again, I felt a bit rushed, but the cheeses were wonderful. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any photos here, and can't remember the name of the farm.

Our last stop of the day was a Calvados distillery at Château Du Breuil. We had a comprehensive tour there; saw the distillery and the aging room, where just breathing made me feel tipsy.

After that we were able to taste a couple of different types of Calvados, a relatively young apéritif and a fifteen-year-old brandy that tasted very much like whiskey.
I bought some Calvados truffles, but they didn't last very long!
Finally, we went into a large dining room and had tarte aux pommes à la Normande with crème Chantilly before we headed back to the boat.

That evening, the crew served us a Norman-style dinner which included a goat cheese crème brulée, and chicken simmered in Calvados, with more tarte Normande for dessert.

Just finished reading...

Crime Fraîche by Alexander Campion.*

Reviewed by Marlyn Beebe.

Parisian Commissaire Capucine le Tellier and her husband, food critic Alexandre de Huguelet have been invited to her uncle's estate in Normandy for a shooting holiday. They arrive to find that there's been a fatal hunting accident. Nobody thinks this is terribly unusual; such accidents do happen when many people with guns are in the same place.

But when there's another accident, and another, Capucine begins to get suspicious. The local gendarmerie are either incompetent or unwilling to investigate for some other reason, so Capucine takes it upon herself to do so. Her visit to the country gets longer and longer, while the work on her desk is piles up. Fortunately, the clever and competent Commissaire has three bright and resourceful assistants to support her.

Alexander Campion creates an inventive mystery with an absorbing plot. His characters are believable and mostly appealing. But the outstanding facet of this novel is his depiction of la vie française, that of urban Paris as well as the not-so-bucolic life of rural Normandy. The author has done his research, as is apparent when he describes foraging for mushrooms, the operation of the abattoir, and the byzantine structure of the French law enforcement system.

This book will be enjoyed by francophiles, foodies, travel buffs and even oenophiles along with the requisite mystery buffs.

*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.