The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

No, not Christmas (although I love Christmas), but summer vacation in my beloved France! As much as I love living in The Netherlands, I simply adore life in France. The people, the language, the culture and let's not forget- the FOOD!! For a greedy guts/ wine freak like myself, this is definitely as close to paradise as it can possibly get!

We are headed to South- West France this year- Aquitaine, to be precise. Now, if you're familiar with France you might know that the capital of this region is Bordeaux- and what comes to mind when I say Bordeaux?? WINE!! I think I'll cry when we visit places such as Pomerol and St- Emilion- pretty much in the same way I cried last year when we saw the signs pointing towards Chateauneuf du Pape.

But if only that was all the area had to offer! This region also produces Bergerac, Sauternes, Cognac and Armagnac, fantastic duck products and even truffles! On our itinerary are also visits to Esplette (piment d' esplette!), Bayonne (ham!) Agen (prunes!) and Marmande (tomatoes!). That's just a taste of how we plan on eating and drinking our way through this region in two very short weeks. If you could only see my face as I write this!!

Oh and I should also mention that I came across this restaurant while reading Rick Stein's French Odyssey- La Tupina. Supposedly they have the best frites in France (fried in goose fat)! The center of attention, however, appears to be the magnificent oven where all sorts of meats are roasted right before your eyes- OH-MY-WORD!

Count on a lot of succulent descriptions and sumptuous photos upon my return!

Au revoir!