find joy in the journey

the academy - saint emilion

Saint Emilion is a charming medeival village located in the heart of the Bordeaux area.  Surrounded by vineyards & wineries and the hub of the village is rich with amazing architecture and history dating back to the 9th century.  Going into the excursion all we knew was that Saint Emilion was a cool historic village (bring your cameras!), there would be opportunities for shopping (yay!), and a special picnic was planned for us (ooh!).

How is this little teaser?  In the morning we met by our cars and found these simply adorable lunches packed, prepared, & all prettied for us!

Saint Emilion was about 30 minutes away through the countryside.  As we got closer the vineyards grew more & more frequent and then bam! something like this pops up in the middle of a vineyard and I knew this was going to be special!

The village is surrounded by walls and as we drove up it seriously reminded me of the book New Moon.  Sorry, Twilight fan here!

We parked the cars and ventured into the village - our first stop was the monolithic church which is located at a high point, and we took in this view.

And from there we were given a street map and 2 hours to roam the village!  All of the streets were made from cobblestone - some were very bumpy.  And several of the streets were VERY steep. And remember, I was navigating all of this in a boot with my broken toe! I managed pretty well.  The steep streets, like this one, were interesting - I just had to take it very slowly. And by the end of the day I was wiped out!

Here is a view of the monolithic church - built in the 12th century.  Apparently it has a vast underground network of catacombs & chambers -- you can pay to go on a tour, but we didn't have time for that.

Outside the church restoration projects were underway.

Sooo steep!

When I spotted a Vietnamese restaurant I just had to take this picture for Scott.  (He served his mission in Australia, Vietnamese speaking).  It just seemed so weird to see a Vietnamese menu in French.  But now that I think about it it's just the same as seeing a Vietnamese menu in English.  It was interesting to get that perspective.

And the doors were just amazing!\

We had plans to meet for lunch at Les Cordeliers - a cloister - columns & archways that were built by monks as part of the church in the 12th century.  We showed up and the setting was absolutely amazing!

But then they kicked us out.  Apparently there is a cafe there and you can only eat in the cordeliers cloister if you have ordered food from them.

So we quickly made the best of things and re-located to the grounds of the Collegiate church and were able to enjoy our picnic lunch in the cloister there.  Construction of this church began in 1110 and between the 12th and 18th centuries it housed a community of monks.

Oh and the picnic was absolutely delightful!  First Jill whipped out a panzanella salad that was so so good!  Then we opened up our darling picnic sacks to find this:

Cute packaging on everything!  An apricot, radishes with butter, a sandwich, and a fruit tart.  All wrapped up in the cutest linen picnic sack.  Which were specially made for us and we got to keep!

After lunch we had more time to explore the village and shop.  I picked up a cute pair of blue ballet flats - they joked that the girl wearing the boot cast is the one who buys new shoes! We also found a shop with great linens and picked up a few things.

More sights to be seen like the King's Keep

We happened upon this residential street and had so much fun imagining what life is like in a village like this.  We may have peeked over a few fences as well.

A beautiful day in Saint Emilion.  There was a darling Bed & Breakfast in the village - I think it would be a great place to stay & visit for a day or two.

As we left I finally got to experience the public toilet vending machine!  Add your Euros!

the academy - perigueux market

Our second field trip during The Academy took us to the town of Perigueux.  Our purpose was to attend the market and practice our photography skills.  As we approached the city from the highways the first thing you spotted was this enormous church - Cathedral Saint-Fronte.  Built in the 1600's with 5 domes and turrets - it's pretty impressive!  And at the foot of the cathedral there is a town square or opening where the market is held.

When we got into town we parked in an underground parking garage.  That was an adventure!  The parking spaces are so so tiny!  Granted, the cars are smaller in Europe, but still.  Everyone was parked over the line taking up 1.25 parking spaces which means that nothing was open.  When we finally found a spot we all had to get out of the car before Jill parked because there would be no way to open the doors once she was in the space.  Like I said, an adventure!  

When we exited the parking garage we were in the middle of a bustling town.  Shopping, big retailers (our equivalent of Target), busy streets, buses, public restrooms (the kind you pay for and then self-clean when you exit).  We walked up several blocks of boutique stores until we reached the market area.

PART I - THE MARKET

Prepare yourself for an onslaught of market photos - produce, bread, fish, shoppers, vendors.  The colors were just amazing and everything was just so fresh and it was just such a beautiful, vibrant place to be!

 

Aren't you just in love with all that color and beautiful produce?  I loved standing back and watching the interactions between vendor & customer and attempting to discreetly capture the people of the market at work.

PART II - THE SIDE STREETS

After we had seen all we could see in the market we ventured into the side streets to explore.  Some of this was done just my mom and I, our free time to roam.  And later we joined with the group to walk to our lunch destination.  Check out all the fun sights!

 

Could this possible BE any more French?  Click HERE to see a little video of his performance.

My mom and I both wore our LuLaRoe for much of the trip.  She's so cute in her Cassie skirts.  I'm wearing the Jill skirt - love a classic pleated skirt.

Here is that amazing domed church right next to the open market square.

We ventured down the hill and around the corner towards our lunch destination.  So many amazing alleys around every corner!  I couldn't help but picture them all!

Genevieve was the "selfie queen" and I love this shot of her smiling big for the camera!  Notice that she's popping up in a lot of my pics?  She was just so much fun!

Is this for real? Oh my!  The character is off the charts!

And yet another view of the massive church.

PART III - LUNCH

Our walk through the streets of Perigueux led us to our lunch destination.  A cozy French restaurant tucked away with a garden courtyard.

They had a large square table set up for our group of 16.  The owner/manager prepared a menu just for us and he was so cute as he came out to announce each course and describe it.  Like, almost giddy to have the opportunity to share this food with us!

It was all so delicious.  The main course was duck breast and even the foie gras was okay - probably the most edible version I had the entire trip.  Like all French meals, the pace was slow and this one went on for 2 hours.  And I have no idea what this dessert was called but as you can see it was amazing.

the academy - diner en blanc

photo credit : @heatherbullard

When I received the schedule for our week at The Academy and read "Dinner en blanc" on Monday night, my interest was piqued, and I had a feeling this was going to be something special.  The only information we received ahead of time was to wear something white.

After a morning of classes on Monday and an afternoon of free time we dressed in white and gathered behind the cottage for head shots.  Just another gift of our stay. Jaci was the photographer and she made it quick and easy.

The boot is always a nice touch.

I also took the opportunity to walk around and get shots of all our Academy girls so I could remember their pretty faces.

Top Left: Bronwyn & Genevieve (Australia)

Top Right: Stacie (Texas), Denise (Oregon), Victoria (Colorado), Jamie (Vancouver B.C.)

Bottom Left: Lori (New York), Terry (France & California), Michelle (New York)

Bottom Right: Gina & Lynda (both from Texas)

Then we walked over the the chateau and watched as Heather & Jill added the final touches to our outdoor dining table.

Absolutely beautiful!  White linens and dinnerware.  Skinny beeswax candles. Greens & florals cut from the property.  The table provided a setting for a magical night.

Laurent and Martine were also hard at work getting things ready.

They spent 3 days preparing this 7 course, authentic French dinner.  The menu was thoughtfully prepared to go with the dinner en blanc theme -- all 7 courses were white.  What an absolute treat!  

COURSE 1: Amuse-bouches blancs
The appetizer course which was basically various crackers with white cheesy spreads

mini blinis et tarama blanc - cheesy spread with fish eggs
chevre frais a l'origan - goat cheese
fromage blanc aux herbes - white cheese with herbs
gougeres au fromage de Comte - amazingly delicious cheese puffs

 

COURSE 2: Huitres speciales de Marennes-Oleron

Translation: Oysters

Oh, help me.

I've never had oysters before and these were quite large.  If it was my choice I would have happily gone through life without sampling this ocean food, but I felt like I had to because Laurent had put so much work into preparing the meal.  And he was so pleased to present each course to us.  So Stacie and Jamie gave me lots of coaching and tips and best of all they warned me that it was going to taste like the ocean.  Sure enough, they were 100% right.  I put the whole thing in my mouth - a salt water, sandy explosion of gelatinous goo - they say you're supposed to swallow it whole but there was no way I was going to get that baby down without chewing.  Again, they were so big.  So I chewed slowly, trying to keep myself from gagging and finally, somehow I was able to choke down the sea monster.  Water please!

My first oyster. And my last.

But hey, I'm still smiling!

 

COURSE 3: Foie gras mi-cuit de canard au Porto

Translation: Duck liver

Those French sure love their foie gras!  I had this stuff 3 times over the week in various forms.  Laurent prepared it with some kind of jelly and served it alongside cooked plums and cherries. The foie gras wasn't unedible, but you can only take so much.  Again lots of water, and lots of bread.

COURSE 4: Asperges vertes et blanches
en emulsion d'huile d'olive de Toscane, basilic et zestes d'agrumes

White asparagus!  I've never had white asparagus before and it was great! Laurent made a delicious creamy lemon herb sauce to spoon over the asparagus.

Each course was served individually and slowly so there was much time for visiting, laughing, noshing on bread.  The pace is so different than what we experience here in America.  Each course is a new adventure and every bite is savored.

Here is what the scene looked like around the table.  I'll tell you that much of the laughter that night centered around the shock, interest, and confusion behind the concept of the TV show "Naked and Afraid".  I really don't know how we got on the topic, but it did not die all night long! :)

COURSE 5: Quenelles de brochet en creme de langoustines

The main course -- pike fish served with a creamy lobster/crab sauce.  It was very tasty.

COURSE 6: Plateau de fromages fermiers

Cheese plate!  Give me all the cheese!  I have always loved brie but the cheese here is in a category all it's own.  Yum-o!

COURSE 7: Nougat glace et mousse de fraises Gariguettes de Perigord

Homemade hazelnut ice cream with strawberries.  Great way to end the meal!

Again, what an amazing meal and we just marvelled at the way Laurent & Martine kept at it all night long.  They prepared and served everything themselves, cleared the tables, did the dishes . . . everything.  That is a lot of work and they put their hearts into it.  We all thanked Laurent with a kiss-kiss at the end of the meal.

The meal began at 8pm and we finished the last course at midnight.  Yes midnight!

It was truly magical.  Here we are all dressed in white, seated outside a 13th century chateau in France, experiencing a 7 course authentic French dinner prepared & served by an old French couple who own & maintain the chateau.  I mean -- who gets to do this kind of stuff???  Truly a once in a lifetime, special experience that I will ways remember.