Je T'aime: Sibell Chips à l’Ancienne aux Herbes de Provence (10/07)

Tired from all of the uphill walking, we decided to have a relaxing dinner at La Colombe d'Ocre. To start things off, we had a lovely G&T with a bowl of chips. I'm not a big fan of potato chips (unless you put out Lipton's onion dip, now that's another story), but when I spotted this bag of Herbes de Provence flavor at the hypermarchés Géant Casino in Avignon, I couldn't resist.

The flavor was so strong and they were absolutely divine. I couldn't stop eating them. They had the right amount of salt, and not too greasy. This is yet another reason why I want to live in France.

Annecy - The Market (9/30)

Wishful thinking pup!!!

Heaven!

Je T'aime Les Légumes

...and I was horrified when I bought my first chicken in England and the scaly bit of the legs were left on...

You can't really tell in this photo, but the beet root in the right hand corner is the size of a brain!

Purple beans? C'est bon!

Richard Belzer (Law & Order SVU) in disguise?

Je T'aime: My First Macaron (9/29)

This was my very first macaron, and if I'm honest, the iridescent lavender flecks on the top also added to appeal of a blue colored bite sized treat. The blue macaron, as I had hoped, turned out to be violet... and violet perfection it was: not too perfumey, yet not too sweet. It was absolutely divine. The meringue part was nice and light - crunchy on the outside and chewy in the inside, and the filling more like a mousse texture. It has almost been a month now since I put that little blue dream of a confection in my mouth, and I remember it like it was 5 minutes ago. It was a perfect introduction to the macaron, and set the bar high. I am only wishing that I could have one right now... sigh...

Je T'aime: Perrier Menthe (9/29)

Perrier Menthe is a brilliantly colored, very refreshing drink that is popular in cafes and bars across France. It is a mixture of Perrier (or any sparkling water / soda water) mixed with Mint Syrup. I would guess the ratio is about 7 (water) to 1 (syrup).

Yes, I was apprehensive at first to try something that had the potential of tasting like chilled carbonated mouthwash, but first sip aside, it was actually very enjoyable. I've been to France several times before, but this was a first for me. Served with a stirrer, you get to mix it up a bit again before drinking. This is a good idea as I found the syrup to settle, and the bottom did taste a bit like mouthwash. Next time I would probably have a few intermittent stirs.

We had originally stopped for a thé citron - but with the sun shining so warmly, I am glad to have opted for a more refreshing, quintessentially French drink.

Je T'aime: French Lizard (9/29)

The first full morning we were in France, we stopped to have a coffee and were joined by this interesting lizard. Poor thing had lost it's tail pretty high up, then it looks like it wasn't healing properly and it sprouted two. Needless to say, I found it way more fascinating than I should have...