Fairytales and Forests

Wow, so much to tell! Pardon for being incommunicado the past few days. I was in Rochetaillée, a tiny village about 1.5 hours away from Saint-Dizier visiting ma papí (grandfather). There was of course, no wifi or modern technology in the village (as there shouldn't be), but I was eager to write. 


Enchanted. That is the word I choose to describe Rochetaillée.

At first sight, from the long cobblestone driveway, I knew I was in for a real treat. As soon as ma papa opened the arched brown-wooden doors, there it was, beauty. Pure and simple. There was a small pond to the right of the extended cobblestone driveway, with a tiny bridge across it. The woods or forest was straight ahead, and to the left, an enormous home. Awe, I couldn't even believe what was in front of my eyes.

Louise and I said, "Bonjour!" to papí, a charming old man with white hair and blue eyes. He spoke ever so softly, and it was an honor to meet him as he is a Boulanger et Pâtissier ;D It's as if I was a young basketball player meeting Michael Jordan for the first time. I was in 7th heaven!!!

Louise pulled me towards the woods, and we ducked under the trees onto a gravel path that stretched along the edge of the property. I couldn't help but smile :D I felt like I was in a fairytale and soon Prince charming would come out from the green brush on his beautiful horse and sweep me up to ride through the forest together. She showed me the truffle trees along the path. Gribouille, our special dog,  discovered the truffles some years back with his keen sense of smell - a special dog, indeed! You have to wait about 20 years before the truffle trees produce any offspring. The family has now planted several truffle trees along the gravel path. It was awesome watching Gribouille have a field day (literally), rolling around in the grass and bushes as we ran along the trail.

When we entered une grande maison, Louise et papí, gave me a tour. It was impeccable! Old, antique, but in order and so beautiful. I would love to show you photos, but per papí's request, he prefer I not post anything on the Internet. Request granted. The rooms on the top floor had obviously been unused or perhaps, even visited for some time. We stepped on small pieces of fabric (oriental like), which were shaped like our feet, and glided across to the next room - so as to protect the ancient wooden floorboards. The last room on the tour was my bedroom. Une grande chambre bien! Pale blue wallpaper lined the walls and matched the blue trimmings on the antique chairs and bed frame. Even the bed cover had matching blue trimmings. Huge white shutters were alongside the large open windows providing the view of the green rolling hills of France. And la bain, sigh, la bain. The rosé marbled counter tops and tile were delightful. There was a bathtub and a shower. The bathtub adjacent to another large open window facing the eastern part of the property. My favorite part was a bowl of wild flowers that hung from the ceiling in front of the window to dress the room with the fresh scent. The flowers were also old and dry, however, so I can only imagine the heavenly aroma they once left.

Louise grabbed my hand once more and took me to see the rest of the village. A church was just down the road with a cemetery around it where her grandmother (whom Louise is named after) was buried. We ran down steps behind the cemetery that led to a public lavatory that was locked, and then to the river where Louise wanted to fish. We ran back up the hill to see the enormous garden full of several types of vegetables and herbs. What a dream! I could not stop smiling :D Then, it was back inside past the dining room (I'll get to that later) and to the kitchen. It was a tiny kitchen, but very comforting. The smell was nostalgic, like my grandfather's addition to his home he built in Stockton. On the table was a plate of tomatoes, sliced egg and some kind of green herb. My mouth was already watering. Such a simple dish, but the presentation was exquisite! We went back to the dining room with a long commune table, with table settings all ready for us. There was an oven across from the tall and narrow windows of the room. It was like ancient, dark blue and resembled a pizza oven on the interior. I could sense papí was thrilled to show me how to use it. Copper pots and pans decorated the dining room, and papa told me his father shines with rock salt and water frequently. Finally, what looked like a door to another room, was the fridge or le frigo.

I was so ecstatic to sit down for dinner! Papí came out with the appetizer, the tomato dish, but it had some type of dressing on it now. If I could bottle that dressing up and take it home, I would!! AHHHHHH-MAZING! We had homemade redcurrant wine that papí had made with our dinner, as well as white wine. I preferred the homemade wine, which had a touch of carbonation and more sweet notes. The second course was Poisson. A white fish with a white sauce and more green herbs. I'm not sure what the sauce was made of, but it was slightly on the thick side, yet it melted in my mouth. Fromage was next. Of course we had been eating tons and tons of bread this whole time (as you do with every meal in France!) It's killing me that I forgot the name of the cheese, but it was slightly bitter with a creamy finish. [By the way, have I told you I've been eating cheese?!? For those of you that know me, I'm lactose intolerant. However, the cheese here has not affected me one bit! If I have to move to France or anywhere in Europe to enjoy cheese again, I just might!] Last, but not least, not least at all was dessert. Handmade, perfect in appearance and taste, made with Braeburn apples was the Tarte aux pommes, Apple tart. *Sigh* The crust was crispy, yet not too flaky. The apples were skillfully placed right next to each other in different directions. After one bite, I knew I was in the right place at the right time. I was destined to meet Monsieur Gilbert Broisson and learn from his artistic expertise in our world of pastry.

I was afraid I'd never taste a tarte quite like it again so I had to have seconds. *Sigh* Thank goodness Louise is so active because we headed upstairs after dinner for step, gymnastics and yoga before bed. Phew, what a day!