Hey friends.
I hope you are all well! Not too much to report on my end, though I did want to keep up with my "posting once a week" promise that I made to myself (and to you, my devoted readers) so here I am.
It's been a mostly normal week, with nothing too extravagant to write to you about. Except there was that fancy 4 course french dinner I experienced last Saturday evening... Yeah, I think you'll want to hear about that.
Sophie and Andrea had told me that they would be having a couple from the neighborhood over for dinner Saturday night, and I really thought nothing much of it. They told me I was welcome to dine with them, they would be arriving at 7 pm, and lasagna was going to be served. "Great" was all I really thought about the whole thing. Until about 6 pm when they both starting whipping around the kitchen, preparing a meal like I had never experienced before.
7 pm: Right on time, the lovely French couple arrives. In this moment, I feel terrible because I cannot remember their names, and I'm usually very good with names. (In all honesty though, I did not talk with them much. Only simple phrases. They spoke only French. Sophie and Andrea translated for me throughout the meal, and I could understand a lot of what was being discussed, but mostly I sat there, listening, wondering exactly how I had gotten myself into this quaint little situation.)
Anyways, they mingle about for a bit in the kitchen, until we all decide that the weather is just lovely, and we should have our appetizers outside. Outside we go, with champagne, tomatoes, olives, and cheese. "Lovely!" I think. I was not expecting these cute appetizers. We sit and talk and casually eat and drink...for an hour and a half. I'm getting a little antsy (not to mention hungry). But it's all good! It truly was a lovely evening, and I love cheese and tomatoes, so who was I to complain.
8:30 pm: Time for L'entree. Not the main meal, as I was thinking, but the second course, the beginning of the dinner to be formally presented to guests. Out comes a moderate serving of smoked salmon with horse radish on the side, and a tiny portion of both onions and peas, to accompany the salmon. While raw salmon is really not my fish of choice, I ate it all anyway. At this point, I cannot remember if we were still finishing the champagne, or starting on the red wine (but I'm leaning toward champagne).
9:30 pm: Finally time for the main course. Lasagna! Home made. No Stouffer's here. It was great! For sure by this time we had moved onto red wine. Everyone ate it at a slow rate, pacing themselves and truly enjoying every bite. What a concept. We were still outside, dark now, but comfortable.
10:15-10:30ish: Dessert. The invited couple had brought some sort of a fruit tart. I have no idea what it would be called, but I just realized there were some leftovers of it in the fridge and I had it for a snack today. It was on a pie type crust, and had prunes I think. Or some sort of odd, purple fruit. Regardless, it was good. Better last Saturday, but still good today, 5 days later. Again, we savored our dessert, taking at least a half hour for this, the final course. But we're not quite done yet.
11:00 pm: After dinner drinks. At this point, I really think I am going to fall asleep, so I have a coffee (decaf, I do need to sleep tonight) so that I have to actively do something while sitting at the table to keep from not shutting my eyes like I want to. The men have a drink of whiskey, straight. It smells awful, and I can't imagine just slowly sipping on it. I tell Andrea I would only drink that if I had a coke to accompany it, and he says that is American. In my opinion, it's also bearable, but hey, whatever floats your boat.
At about 11:45 everyone (except me, who has been tracking it this whole time) realizes how late it has gotten. Our guests leave, and the three of us flock to the kitchen to clean up as quickly as possible.
Now, I know it might have sounded like I did not enjoy my first 4 course French dinner, but I did! I just wish someone would have warned me that I was signing up for a 4 hour meal event, that way I could have adequately prepared myself before hand with a cup of coffee or two! The food was truly lovely, and prepared very well, and you can tell that Sophie and Andrea enjoy hosting guests and preparing food. I suspect this will be far from the last lovely meal I experience here. And now I know exactly what to expect.
I think it's neat how they plan out what they are going to serve, and dedicate an entire 4 hours to enjoying it, and their company. I get annoyed if my food at a restaurant doesn't come out within 15 minutes, or if I have to wait too long to get the check. Slow down. Look around. Enjoy the moments. I'm truly learning so much.
Unrelated, I have had a couple small longings for home recently. I really do miss everyone, and my day to day life. Just being in the same house as my family. And a short driving distance from friends. And my jazzercise...man oh man, do I miss my jazzercise. I could write a whole post about that. In fact, I might, later on. Trying to put together some sort of an exercise schedule here is difficult! I also just ran out of Reese's cups...so if anyone wants to send me more, I'll send you my address! ;)
But...I am also going to Barcelona on Saturday for our 10 day "holiday", so...all is well. :) I'll post again from there. Adios!
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