Little did we know when we celebrated Relationnel’s birthday at Domaine des Hauts de Loire in Onzain in the Loire Valley last October that in June we would have finished furnishing a 400-year old house for rental just 15 minutes away! We had decided to come down for a week at the beginning of October to start looking for a place to retire in October 2014 and didn’t imagine for one minute that the first place we visited would be our dream home.
It was already cold in October and when we arrived at Rémy Giraud’s 2-star restuarant at Domaine des Hauts de Loire, an elegant 19th century hunting pavilion in a 70-hectare park, we were delighted to find ourselves in a beautiful drawing room with a log fire. There we were served amuse-bouches with our traditional glass of champagne, based on truffles, basil and red mullet. We were given the menu to peruse and decided to take the wine pairing menu. I had told them in advance that it was “madame’s invitation” so Relationnel was given a menu without prices.
After finishing our apéritif, we were shown to our table in the beautifully decorated dining roof next door. I can only say it must have been a very luxurious hunting lodge in its day! The pikeperch mousse with a crustacean sauce and the caviar and crayfish blancmanger were served with a local chardonnay 2007 from Oisly. This was followed by foie gras with shallot preserve and truffle shavings, lobster with chestnut ravioli and green apple jelly with rosemary and lime. And they were only the starters!
As becomes a hunting lodge in autumn, the main course was fillet of doe with parsnip and cardomom croquettes and mushrooms. To accompany it, we were served an excellent cabernet sauvignon made from the grapes of very old vines. After goat’s cheese with paprika on capsicum, we had peaches in basil with a sorbet in filo pastry and a chocolate sphere with the name of the restaurant in gold letters served with pears.
Of course, I only know what we had to eat and drink because I noted down everything in my trusty iPhone. What I do remember, however, was that each dish was an artistic marvel that tasted as delicious as it looked and that the service was impeccable. Next time, we’ll go there on a fine day so we can eat on the terrace that we tantalised us from our inside table. A perfect venue for a special occasion!
You can order à la carte (starters about 35 euro and main courses about 55 euro) or choose a set menu at 160, 96 or 77 euro at night or a special “express” menu at lunchtime Wednesdays to Fridays for 49 euro including a main course, dessert, glass of wine, bottled water and coffee.
Domaine des Hauts de Loire, Route de Herbault, 41150 Onzain 02 54 20 72 57, hauts-loire@relaischateaux.com, www.domainehautsloire.com (the English version of the site doesn’t seem to be working at present).
There is also a hotel with 25 bedrooms and 11 apartments but I haven’t tried them!
Black Cat and I decided to celebrate Mother’s Day a bit early this year because on the real day – 3rd June – she’ll be in Delft and I’ll be in Blois. Last year, Leonardo was with us as well but he’s in Sydney now of course and we had a lovely brunch in the courtyard of the restaurant inside the Arts & Métiers museum. This year, there were just the two of us so Black Cat took me to A Priori Thé in Galérie Vivienne for lunch. Paris has many arcades and passageways but this is my favourite and the closest to home.
Built on an L-shape, it was inaugurated in 1826. I love the beautiful mosaic floors and curved glass roof, not to mention all the lovely shops. The Bistrot Vivienne at the Rue des Petits Champs entrance changed hands a couple of years ago and went upmarket. It’s a little expensive for a bistrot but the staff are friendly and dining in the spacious arcade away from the noise of the street is very pleasant. I have to admit that the French fries, served in a little bucket, are excellent!
Legrand Fils et Filles, one of Paris’ best-known wine merchants, also has regular tastings. Don’t hestitate to walk through the bar area and into the old-fashioned épicerie on the other side which sells sweets, coffee, tea and other gourmandises in a very olde worlde atmosphere.
A Priori Thé, halfway down the arcade, is one of my favourite lunch spots but you often need to reserve in advance if you want to sit outside. They have a different special every day and the ideas are always original. You can buy wine by the glass that comes from Legrand. Relationnel and I sometimes go just for coffee after having lunch at home and it’s a great place for afternoon tea particularly with young friends who have strollers. I like the fact that they have “half servings” of cakes and desserts. They also have an excellent “café goumand” which is coffee or tea served with mini-cakes.
There’s a bookshop just after A Priori Thé with old and new books, including a few paperbacks in English where I used to go before I discovered Book Offand a picture framer where you can get very wide and very tall photos of Paris. We have one with the Pont des Arts in the middle and the Pont Neuf on the left that is impossible to take yourself unless you have a special camera which I don’t.
There is even a designer clothing shop called La Marelle with no indication whatsoever on the outside that the clothes are secondhand. I wandered in one day by accident and overheard some interesting conversations among the clients, some of whom were bringing their clothes in for sale. A very discreet address! There are some firsthand designer shops as well, including Nathalie Garçon, Catherine André, Rodika Zanian, Yuki Torii and Gautier.
The other boutiques in the arcade include a watchmaker who sells both new and old watches, an optomotrist, a toy shop, a hairdresser where the lady seems to spend a lot of time in a chair in front of her shop, a shoe shop, a hat shop, a florist, a boutique that sells old letters and engravings and a couple of art galleries (one with a very colourful cow in front) but none of them are exactly in my price range.
If you visit Galerie Vivienne, you might also like to visit Galerie Colbert (1836) a little further down and Passage Choiseul (1829) a few blocks away, both on Rue des Petits Champs in the direction of Avenue de l’Opéra. Galerie Colbert has a beautiful glass dome while Choiseul is a little rundown but has real shops and little places to eat and not a tourist in sight!
Bistrot Vivienne, 4 rue des Petits Champs, Paris 75001, 01 49 27 00 50, http://www.bistrotvivienne.com/A Priori Thé, 35-37 Galerie Vivienne, 75002 Paris, M° Bourse or Palais Royale, 01 42 97 48 75, http://apriorithe.com. Open for breakfast-lunch-tea: Monday -Friday from 9am to 6 pm /Saturday from 9am to 6:30 pm, Sunday Brunch from 12am to 4pm Sunday tea from 4pm-6:30pm
The first time we went to Le Pré aux Clercs on rue Bonaparte in the 6th arrondissement was on the way home from a week’s holiday and it was about 10 pm. Despite the late hour, it was crowded and we were taken upstairs. Relationnel took the dish of the day – a large sole – which he has never forgotten! The next time we went, we were seated downstairs and discovered, to our amazement, that there was a large tree in the middle of the restaurant. Unfortunately, the sole was off, but we enjoyed the meal. We’ve been back several times since.
When we walked across the river on Saturday night via the Pont des Arts, where the lovelocks have positively taken over, the streets and particularly the terrace cafés were packed, especially since it was one of the first sunny days in quite a while. I got Relationnel to check the map before we left, because I remembered our getting lost last time despite his usually good sense of direction. We went the wrong way – again – but enjoyed the walk. There was even a little old lady dancing to a live jazz band in front of one restaurant!
Given the number of people in the streets, I decided to phone and check they had a table. “Pas de problème”, said the waiter, without taking my name. There were people queuing up when we arrived but we got a table straight away. To my surprise, the tree had been completely transformed. I learnt later that it had never been a real tree – I guess I was rather naive to think you could have one in the middle of Parisian restaurant anyway!
Despite the sun, the temperatures were a little cool and we kept our jackets on but the waiter spontaneously moved us closer to the terrace where there was heating, which was much better and one side of the restaurant was completely open. We ordered foie gras between us as a starter, but we should have known it wouldn’t be the façon traiteur type that we prefer. We loved the presentation though.
Relationnel then took the monk fish (there was still no sole) and I had rack of lamb with stir-fried vegetables. Both were very tasty even though the lamb was probably a little closer to mutton. A lot of their produce is labelled “traditional agriculture”. We chose a glass of petit chablis with our foie gras and a pays d’oc red with our main course. We didn’t have desert (we rarely do as neither of us is a natural skinny) and didn’t bother about coffee, because we prefer to make our own decaffeinated at home with déca from Verlet. The bill was a reasonable 62 euros.
Even though Hemingway used to come here, which you’d imagine would attract the tourists, most of the patrons were French and in their late twenties, early thirties. There was no English on the menu. The service is relaxed, efficient and friendly. After we changed tables, I took a photo of an attractive-looking patisserie opposite, only to discover it was the famous Ladurée cake shop, restaurant and tearoom, founded in 1862 and known for its macaroons! I’ll have to try it out now that I know where it is.
Le Pré aux Clercs, 30 rue Bonaparte, 75006 – Tel 01 43 54 41 73.Ladurée 16-18 rue Royale Paris VIII – Tel. 01 42 60 21 79
Ladurée 21 rue Bonaparte Paris VI – Tel. 01 44 07 64 87
Ladurée au grand magasin Le PRINTEMPS 64 Boulevard Haussmann Paris IX – Tel. 01 42 82 40 10
Ladurée on the Champs Elysées is being refurbished at the moment.
If I didn’t live in France, I’d live in Italy and, more especially, Tuscany. Umbria, just next door, isn’t bad either and contains my favourite cathedral – Orvieto. The first time I went to Tuscany was about twenty years ago with two young children in tow and I’ll never forget the magic of Florence. I can still see Leonardo marvelling at Michelangelo’s David. I didn’t go back until 2003, but have returned several times since gradually discovering the entire region.
Apart from just soaking up the wonderful countryside, with its undulating hills and picturesque cyprus trees, at its best in June before harvest time, you can choose from so many wonderful places to visit. Start with Pisa which despite the hordes of tourists, leaves a powerful impression on the visitor. There isn’t just the leaning tower, but also a cathedral and a baptistry. Head north to Lucca, where we spent a memorable night in the Hotel Romantica just outside the city walls and had our first taste of an Italian aperitivo on Place Frediano.
Another time, we rented a little house up on a hill not far from Castiglioni Fiorentino where we ate a memorable tagliata, which I’ve decribed in another post. The town itself has a breathtaking view, particularly in the late afternoon. Further on is Arezzo, where Life is Beautiful was shot in 1997 on Grande Piazza. It is also home to the wonderful Piero della Francesca frescoes. Cortona, so beautifully described by Frances Mayes in Under the Tuscan Sun, remains one of my favourites, with its relaxed atmosphere and lovely kitchenware and home decoration shops. Definitely best in the morning before the tourists arrive.
When we visited Florence we found that staying in an agriturismo (B&B is the countryside) halfway between Florence and Siena was the perfect solution. The views along the way are quite stunning and it means you can avoid the noise and expense of a hotel in Florence. There are parking lots on the outskirts where you can leave your car and walk into the city. Our favourite is Casa Nova near Greve in Chianti, worth a visit in itself, particularly the Antica Macelleria Falorni delicatessan on the main square. Ask for a room with a terrace and enjoy a glass of Poggio ai Mori chianti as the sun sets over the Tuscan landscape.
In Florence, we had a surprisingly good (and reasonably priced) lunch at La Galleria on via Guicciardini, away from the crowds and dinner at Il Cantone di Guelfo where the staff was friendly and we ate an excellent bistecca alla fiorentina. Another time, we ate at Enoteca San Augustino, now called Enoteca Mondovino, on the other side of the Arno, where I ate a porcini mushroom the size of a plate! I’ve been trying to repeat the experience ever since but to no avail.
The Duomo, which is stunningly beautiful, is worth visiting at different times during the day to capture the changing light. Remember to reserve your tickets to the Uffizi museum on-line if you want to save your feet for Botticelli and Fra Lippo Lippi. There are many commercial sites which are considerably more expensive so make sure you use the official site. Michelangelo’s David is in a separate building, the Galleria dell’Accademia. And make sure you go up to Fiesole to get a magnificent view of the city.
The first time we went to San Gimignano in the hills around Florence, it was late afternoon, about an hour before the shops closed. Most of the tourists had gone and we had dinner in a restaurant with a spectacular view. We made the mistake of going back again late morning when the tourist trade was at its zenith.. It took us ages to park and the throngs detracted from the charm but we still loved the wonderful ceramic fountains and garden furniture and intend to go back one some day to buy a table and chairs.
Quite by accident, we stayed in Siena the first time during the extremely popular Palio horse races but the Piazza del Campo was completely black with people and, as foreigners, it was difficult to be really part of the atmosphere, with each of the city’s contrade or neighbourhoods parading their colours. We returned at a quieter time and were able to appreciate the city much more, particularly its stunning cathedral.
Other places that are worth a detour, to quote the Michelin guide, are Pienza, with its beautiful duomo and palazzo, Montepulciano, famous for its vino nobile, has many lovely Renaissance buildings, and Montalcino, a charming little town on top of a hill where you can eat outdoors halfway up the slope and taste its famous brunello di Montalcino wine.
Next time I’ll take you to Umbria!
Reliable hotel booking service in Italy: www.venere.com
Hotel Romantica Via N. Barbantini Tel. +39 0583 496872 e-mail villaromanticalucca@venere.com
Agriturismo Casa Nova La Ripintura, Sandra Taccetti, Via Uzzano 30, I-50022 Greve in Chianti
Tel/fax: +39 055 853459 e-mail: casanova@greve-in-chianti.com http://www.greve-in-chianti.com/fr/casa_nova.htm
Ristorante ‘La Galleria’, Via Guicciardini 48r, 50125 Florence Telephone: 0039 055 21 85 45 (on the right as you head towards Palazzo Pitti)
Official Uffizi Museum site: http://www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/uffizi/default.aspx.
Il Cantone del Guelfo, Via Guelfa, 41/43, Florence
San Augustino (now Mondovino), via Augustino 27, Florence
This Wednesday, I’m bringing you a new blog I’ve just discovered for the art lover – American Girls Art Club in Paris – with a post that will take you to Auvers-sur-Oise where Van Gogh died. Next Paris Weekender tells us about Franglish, a novel group which holds language exchange events in various bars around Paris. Then Kathy Stanford from Femmes Francophiles takes us on a tour of a little-known monument that is open to the public: the Institut de France library, after breakfast at Angelina’s.
When Vincent Van Gogh died in Auvers-sur-Oise, France in July 1890, he left behind so many burning questions.
How did he die? Was it a self-inflicted gunshot wound or homocide? And why was the gun never found? How did Van Gogh ever manage to complete over 70 dazzling paintings in just 70 days in Auvers? It’s all such a mystery. Read more
Do you find it easy or difficult to learn a foreign language? How do you learn best?
While I may not have mastered all the foreign languages I have studied over the years, I do consider myself an expert at being a student of languages. Yes, all of the books in the photo above do belong to me: English dictionaries, law dictionaries (arguably in English but that is debatable), French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, Japanese, German…. Read more
After breakfast [at Angelina’s] I headed to the Left Bank with Destination Europe and Island Girl. We visited the Bibliothèque Mazarine at L’Institut de France. To enter the library you enter through the security area to the left of the imposing main portal. You are not usually allowed to enter the Institute so you do need to explain that you want to access the library. You will be asked to leave your ID with the guard. Read more
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Every year on my birthday, Relationnel takes me to a surprise venue. In 2010, it was La Cascade in the Bois de Boulogne and last year it was the Ritz, no less! It was a perfect spring day and we were able to sit outside in the inner courtyard. I am embarrassed to say that I don’t remember what I ate but I know it was delicious and that the service was impeccable. The Ritz is currently closed for Renovation.
This year, I had suggested we have lunch at Les Ombres, the restaurant on top of the Quai Branly ethnic museum because I’ve seen photos of the stunning views of the Eiffel Tower but with a temperature of 12°C, uncertain skies and disappointing reports about the food, we decided to change venue. What an excellent idea! Because Relationnel chose Michelin 2-star chef Alain Dutournier’s Carré des Feuillants just off Place Vendôme. Not exactly in the same league.
Discreet but warm welcome into a very modern and spacious dining room. We both chose the all-inclusive “Idées de la Saison” menu including drinks, starting with champagne to accompany the mouth-watering mises en bouche. Then the starters: fresh wild salmon on a bed of boletus mushrooms, smoked salmon with horseradish and blue lobster with tiny fried spring rolls, followed by melt-in-the-mouth suckling lamb from the Pyrenées with cress and aubergine lasagna. The cheese was a strong Roquefort with a dried fruit centre.
We had a glass of Montée de Tonnère chablis 2010 from Château de Maligny with our starters, followed by a Domaine Gauby côtes de Roussillon 2002 with the lamb and a Château de Carles 2008 fronsac with the cheese. Relationnel asked if he could try a demi-sec white instead which proved to be a much better combination. The wine did not seem to be limited.
Only the desserts , based on vacherin and raspberries, were disappointing. Either Alain Dutournier isn’t interested in sweet food or he’s chosen the wrong pâtissier! I’m not a big fan of desserts but when I have them, I like to remember them! The petits fours with the coffee were good though. In any case, the service was perfect throughout, attentive without being obsequious and all was well orchestrated. When I was reading the menu, the print was too small so the waiter went and got me some glasses!
Alain Dutournier, who comes from the southwest of France, has three other restaurants : Au Trou Gascon (his first address) in the 12th arrondissement, Pinxo in the 1st and Caves Marly in Versailles. Pinxo sounds very interesting from the blurb on the DVD that you get when you leave : “Original concept conceived and created by Alain Dutournier – contemporary french (sic) restaurant – dishes executed in an open kitchen – surprising combinations, creative and authentic cuisine that focuses on the products – instantaneity of preparation and quick sampling are key words – all the dishes presented by three parts can be easily shared. Wide choice of authentic wines by open price levels (NOT MY TRANSLATION, by the way!). Might just try it sometime.
Carré des Feuillants, 14 rue de Castiglione, 75001 Paris
01 42 86 82 82 carredesfeuillants@orange.fr – www.carredesfeuillants.fr
To celebrate this truly momentous day in the life of our couple – the purchase of Closerie Falaiseau, our beautiful Renaissance home in the Loire Valley built in 1584 – we chose L’Embarcadère in Blois , with its lovely view of the Loire. It was a perfect spring day, with bright sun and blue sky.
View from L'Embarcadère
Embarcadère means landing stage, from the word “barque” or boat used to ferry people across the river. L’Embarcadère thus has a nautical theme. We’ve known it for many years and return each time we’re in the area. It will definitely be one of our regular haunts. Good view, good food, good service, good value for money. What more could your ask?
We started with champagne, of course, and some delicious nibbles – salmon rillettes, tomato tartare, little grey shrimp and prawns. Relationnel then had fillet of cod while I had salmon tartare. We both had a glass of white cheverny and finished off with a café gourmand on a green theme.
We’re looking forward to returning in two weeks’ time to collect the keys and spend our first night in our new home – we’ve already bought the bed!
As usual on a Wednesday, here are some snippets from other blogs. Thank you to the authors: Femme Francophil, Petite Paris and Experience France by Bike!
Each year, on 20 March, French-speakers around the world celebrate the International Day of Francophonie.
This year to mark the day the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) and the United Nations’ Programme alimentaire mondial (PAM), known in English as the World Food Programme (WFP), provides you with the opportunity to not only extend your knowledge of the French language and the French-speaking countries but at the same time help those who are hungry. Read more
Paris for Lunch
by Petite Paris bed & breakfast accommodations in Paris
Bonjour Petite Friends. It’s 2.30pm and I havent had lunch yet. Looks like im going to work straight through AGAIN; picking away at an emergency (don’t have time to step away from le bureau) stash off tuna and crackers at my desk! If I were in Paris, I would eat at: Read more
The Atlantic Coast of France, My Destination for Spring 2012
This is my 100th post about biking in France, and I thought it was the perfect occasion to reveal the destination for my upcoming trip to France. Having spent the last two years exploring the Loire Valley, Burgundy, Brittany and the Dordogne, this spring I will finally journey back to the Atlantic Coast of France. Read more
Not that I really discovered the secret. Ourbacalao experience was only the start.
The first morning, we set off from our home exchange flat for desayuno and saw that a lot of cafés were offering the American-style breakfasts we had seen in Seville obviously geared towards tourists, with fried eggs and sausages. We ended up having a cute cappuccino and a somewhat disappointing cake and decided we’d have breakfast at home for the rest of our stay. I didn’t find any Earl Grey tea though and we had to make do with ordinary yoghurts as opposed to the Activia (bifidobacterium) we prefer. We couldn’t find a bakery either but I suspect they are called something I don’t know!
We had lunch at Eboli on Plaza Mayor. Relationnel chose from the counter – delicious mussels (mejillones) and some expensive rubbery octopus (pulpo). For our aperitivo in the evening, we went to an address given to us by our home exchange host but it was excessively noisy so we found a heated terrace at La Téa Cebolla with some good nibblies – mainly a dried sausage affair with little bread sticks and cheese. There were no tourists there. We then found a restaurant serving shoulder of lamb and went in.
The bar area of the restaurants is always very animated and the food looks great but if you want to sit down, you find yourself in a very different atmosphere with practically no one else around and rather off-hand service. The lamb was off (of course) so we left. We were much happier at El Lacon where we had an ensalada mixta and a tabla de carne, which is a sort of mixed grill. The ensalada mixta consisted of iceberg lettuce, canned tuna, raw onion and some bits of tomatoes while the meat (very copious) was served with delicious grilled vegetables – sliced eggplant, zucchini, capsicum, tomatoes, onions and asparagus.
At lunch next day, we stupidly chose the ensalada mixta again (some people never learn!) and discovered that it’s always the same thing. We had tried to eat at the Mercado San Miguel, which I definitely recommend if you don’t mind standing up to eat (which is not my case unfortunately, due to my uncooperative feet). The ambiance is wonderful, they have a really wide selection of food and prices to suit every budget, but it is always chockablock, no matter what time of the day or night and, I can tell you, we tried several times.
We had our aperitivo at Toma Jamon, which turned out to be a chain. It had typical barrel tables and ham legs strung from the ceiling which proved to be plastic on closer inspection! I ordered a mollete jamon iberico, thinking I was very smart, until we were given a thin steak sandwich on slightly sweet bread (that’s the mollete). After that we found a restaurant called Posada del Leon de Oro on Calle Baja which we think must be the “real” bacalao restaurant indicated on our mud map.
It was trendier than El Madroño and only slightly more expensive. You walk through an inner courtyard with several floors of wooden galleries (a hotel in fact, but it must be terribly noisy). The floor of the restaurant is made of glass and you can see wine bottles and cases on a sort of white gravel floor. Relationnel took the cod and found it excellent, but I thought it was rather dry. I was starving for vegetables so took the parrillada de verduras, much the same as the grilled vegetables we had at El Madroño, but with a lump of mozarella in the middle.
We had lunch again next day at El Madroño and I think we should have just adopted it for the rest of our stay because our eating experience went downhill from there on. We tried to have an aperitivo at the well-known Lardy on Carrera San Jeronimo, but it was closed on Sundays. We went to La Catedral next door, which made up in decor what it was lacking in gastronomy. I ordered some mushroom tapas (rollitos crujientes) which turned out to be little deep-fried bricks with mushroom stuffing. So much for the vegetables.
In front of El Madrono
We tried two restaurants and walked out of each of them after seeing the menu which had mysteriously changed by the time we sat down, either doubling in price or offering different food from what was indicated outside. I left my bag in the first one but the waiter very nicely ran after me in the street. I nearly forgot it the second time as well. We ended up in La Taverna San Isodoro which was full of joyous Spanish families. Unfortunately there were no lamb chops left and we ordered a parrillada de pescado for two. It looked most unappetizing so I just stuck to the prawns, the chips and a couple of rings of octopus. Relationnel, who loves fish of any shape or kind, attacked it with great gusto.
Breakfast next morning was an unforgettable experience at La Chocolateria San Ginès where we dipped wonderfully fresh churros in thick hot chocolate. We took two servings of churros but one would have been enough. They certainly kept us going while we visited the Palacio Real.
The next and last restaurant was our worst experience (mine in any case). There was bright sun at last and Relationnel wanted to have tapas on Plaza Mayor, but it’s a real tourist trap. At Bar Tinco, we were given absolutely nothing to nibble with our wine and were charged 15 euros for a few thin slices of manchego cheese! I got very angry with the waiter, but it didn’t do any good. Relationnel just shrugged it off. He was enjoying the sun.
This is a somewhat negative post but I have been travelling for very many years and usually enjoy my food experiences and am ready to try anything. We had lovely raciones and tapas in Seville and I was expecting the same in Madrid. Maybe it’s because we never learnt the secret of where to eat or what to order! I really must improve my Spanish.
Before we left Paris, Miguel, our Spanish home exchanger, had a look at the list a French friend had given me with places to eat near the Plaza Mayor. The first address was El Madrono. “Ah yes”, he said in Spanish, “El Madrono is good, but just across the plaza, there’s a better one. You like fish? El bacalao. Very good restaurant. If you can’t find it, just ask”. That’s what I understood anyway. So he drew this little mud map with a cross in the middle, showing El Madrono on one side and “bacalao” on the other.
We didn’t get to the apartment until after 9.30 pm, but as we discovered in Sevilla last year, going out to dinner at 10 pm in Spain is not a problem. They do everything about 2 hours later here. I don’t know how Miguel’s going to get on in Paris! Relationnel followed the map to the Plaza Mayor and we started looking for the Bacalao. Lots of other restaurants in sight, still no Bacalao. We asked in a souvenir shop but the girl had never heard of it. We then asked a couple about our age, showing them the paper with El Madrono on it. No problem. They knew where it was. Then I explained (in my Italian-style Spanish) that we didn’t want El Madrono but the Bacalao, which was supposed to be better.
They both laughed. The man got out his business card (he turned out to be a lawyer) and wrote down the name of a good Basque restaurant for the next evening with a phone number (that he knew off by heart !). After that they showed us the way to what we thought was the Bacalao. Suddenly Relationnel saw a big stone cross. “There’s your cross and look, there’s El Madrono!” So, after consulting the mud map again, we set off the look for the Bacalao.
After at least a quarter of an hour, having tried in every direction, I suggested that we forget the Bacalao and go to El Madrono instead. We went in and were taken through to the dining room which was completely deserted. We consulted the bilingual menu and then it dawned on me. “Bacalao” means “cod”!!! Miguel had obviously said “a good restaurant to eat cod, better than El Madrono”. No wonder our lawyer and his wife were amused.
We obviously ordered “bacalao”. Every time I thought about the confusion, I laughed. So much for my Spanish!
Little did we know when we celebrated Relationnel’s birthday at Domaine des Hauts de Loire in Onzain in the Loire Valley last October that in June we would have finished furnishing a 400-year old house for rental just 15 minutes away! We had decided to come down for a week at the beginning of October to start looking for a place to retire in October 2014 and didn’t imagine for one minute that the first place we visited would be our dream home.
It was already cold in October and when we arrived at Rémy Giraud’s 2-star restuarant at Domaine des Hauts de Loire, an elegant 19th century hunting pavilion in a 70-hectare park, we were delighted to find ourselves in a beautiful drawing room with a log fire. There we were served amuse-bouches with our traditional glass of champagne, based on truffles, basil and red mullet. We were given the menu to peruse and decided to take the wine pairing menu. I had told them in advance that it was “madame’s invitation” so Relationnel was given a menu without prices.
After finishing our apéritif, we were shown to our table in the beautifully decorated dining roof next door. I can only say it must have been a very luxurious hunting lodge in its day! The pikeperch mousse with a crustacean sauce and the caviar and crayfish blancmanger were served with a local chardonnay 2007 from Oisly. This was followed by foie gras with shallot preserve and truffle shavings, lobster with chestnut ravioli and green apple jelly with rosemary and lime. And they were only the starters!
As becomes a hunting lodge in autumn, the main course was fillet of doe with parsnip and cardomom croquettes and mushrooms. To accompany it, we were served an excellent cabernet sauvignon made from the grapes of very old vines. After goat’s cheese with paprika on capsicum, we had peaches in basil with a sorbet in filo pastry and a chocolate sphere with the name of the restaurant in gold letters served with pears.
Of course, I only know what we had to eat and drink because I noted down everything in my trusty iPhone. What I do remember, however, was that each dish was an artistic marvel that tasted as delicious as it looked and that the service was impeccable. Next time, we’ll go there on a fine day so we can eat on the terrace that we tantalised us from our inside table. A perfect venue for a special occasion!
You can order à la carte (starters about 35 euro and main courses about 55 euro) or choose a set menu at 160, 96 or 77 euro at night or a special “express” menu at lunchtime Wednesdays to Fridays for 49 euro including a main course, dessert, glass of wine, bottled water and coffee.
