Bonjour
Last weekend was beautiful and sunny and we had hired a car so it was a great opportunity to get out and about.
Barfleur is described in the Michelin guide as one of the prettiest villages in France and we can’t argue (not that we have seen that many yet). It’s about 30 kms from Cherbourg and last weekend it turned into a huge art gallery. 56 artists exhibit their works in houses and public places in the village and so we wandered around and pretended to be interested in the art, but mainly wanted to see what the inside of some of these 500 year old homes looked like. It’s amazing how the outside of these houses look pretty much the same as they did hundreds of years ago, but the inside is completely modernised with a nod to the old (e.g. exposed stone walls, huge beams etc). We actually bought a painting by one of the local artists and he will deliver it next week.
The drive to Barfleur was really pretty with some beaches along the way that were busy with people enjoying the first warm sunshine we have seen since we got here (Lee even got sunburnt!). And we saw something that is apparently a thing in France. It’s common at home to see groups of friends getting together for their power walks and having a chat. The variation here is water walking – wets suits are a must. They all looked like a bunch of seals together.
Last Friday night was a bit of an occasion. It was the 2nd anniversary of the Australian/French submarine partnership and we were invited to a ‘cocktail dinatoire’ (French version of finger foods) combined with French and Australian wines, beers and champagnes. Lots of VIPs, speeches and thanks to everybody. Probably the main invitee was the Australian Ambassador to France, Brendan Berne. He was there with his partner, Thomas and you may have heard of them before – (Link)
He was very friendly, a bit irreverent and great sense of humour. He even agreed to selfie
Cherbourg also received a visit from the Defence Minister before she headed off to Villers-Bretonneux for Anzac Day services. Here she is with most of the Australians working on the project.
And last but not least – we bought this….and made these!!!!!! Of course the first thing to cook in it was beef bourguignon (using Julia Child’s recipe of course) and then had a stab at ratatouille. Both delicious.
au revoir pour le moment
L & M
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