Bordeaux Part Un

Say fromage! Owen, Marisa, and Sean Raymond among the Bordeaux vineyards.

Oh la France. We just returned from a wonderful visit with the Raymonds in Bordeaux, where Sean has an astronomy research position at the Universite de Bordeaux. They live among the domes of the observatory in a beautiful little house, where a neighbor cares for an enormous garden and brings them fresh produce.

Radishes fresh from the garden. Yum-eeee with butter and salt.

Bordeaux is in the southwest corner of France, which is famous for its gastronomic delights. French cuisine is my favorite style of food, and I was in taste-bud heaven during our visit. This was the region where we spent several months at the Ecole Maternelle in Souillac when Susan and I were little, so the visit was full of nostalgic tastes, smells, and sounds. The southwest specializes in duck products, foie-gras, delicious cheeses and pates, as well as Spanish-style hams, red wines, and the sweet white Sauternes. Sean gave us a tour of the open-air market in Bordeaux, where we saw all the vendors with local wares and enjoyed our first lunch of the visit. The flavors of cheese, pate, and red wine are a spectacular feast for the tongue and the tummy!

Dejeuner (lunch) in the Bordeaux market.

While it is not common in American grocery carts, duck (le canard) makes a regular appearance on the French table. In the southwest, le canard comes in many forms, including the confit du canard. In this elegant dish, the duck legs are first cured in salt and then poached in duck fat. The result, which can be bought in a can to avoid this lengthy and difficult process, is beyond words. Sean served us this with the local cepes, or mushrooms, and French fingerling potatoes.

While the work day has grown a bit longer and people's lives more complicated, food still takes central stage in French culture. Smaller markets are being replaced by the larger super-grocery stores (Auchan, Intermarche, L'Eclerc, etc.), but local shops specializing in individual items are still common. There is nothing better than a morning walk to the boulangerie for fresh baguettes and croissants...except maybe eating these treasures.