Each girls-weekend there is a pique-nique (picnic).

Our pique-niques are fun, relaxing, and delicious.

And just as nice as the pique-nique is the search for the pique-nique…at bakeries, road-side stands, butcher shops and small epiceries (grocers).

But in France there is no better place to shop for fresh fruit, cheese, saucisson (sausage), and bread than at the weekly market

And the weekly Saturday market in Aix is the place to shop for local goods.

It’s one of the best markets in the south, servicing locals and tourists, with quality produce from the region.

Well to be honest the girls do the shopping, my job is to wander behind, enjoy the action and try to focus on taking pictures.

When we cross paths the conversation goes like this… “Les t’as vu les saucissons? Il faut que tu le prennes en photo!” (Les did you see the saussage?  You have to a picture of them!)… “Et le pain?  C’est superb!” (And the bread?  It’s incredible)…

The team is always watching out for me (merci les filles!)

And as every year, when the shopping is done we wrap up the morning with a coffee on the terrace of a cafe to talk, rest and take in the ambience.

I love this post, it makes me feel like I’m back in Aix with the girls.

If you have never been to Aix I hope these close-ups help inspire a visit. Visit my Flickr page to see more images from the market.

Enjoy!

Leslie

Each year we go through a little anxiety arriving at our destination.

Even though finding a chambre d’hote (bed & breakfast) has become easier with technology, we still hold our breath on the last mile (which is typically a dirt road in the middle of nowhere that can barely fit a compact car) praying our choice is okay.

We have rarely been disappointed and this year was no exception.  But after inspecting and approving the room, the views, the pool, the grounds and yes even the owner, I’m still wondering about breakfast.

It’s no secret that le petit dejeuner (breakfast) is my favorite meal of the day in France…

Bread, butter, jam, buttery croissants, sweet brioche, a large cup of fresh coffee…or two, a few chocolate croissants and if there is room maybe some fresh fruit and yoghurt.

This year our chambre d’hote offered a design oriented presentation, so le petit dejeuner not only tasted good it looked good too.

Ready for a French breakfast?  I am.  Visit my flickr page for more breakfast images.

Enjoy!

Leslie

This trip is an annual ritual…nothing changes about it except the final destination.

But this year there was a slight change in my program and Mapie and Claudine didn’t understood why I was arriving in Paris on a Saturday night from New York, not too tired to go out.

Opps…did I forget to mention I wasn’t arriving from New York, I would be arriving from Italy?

The girls loved this because it meant the Italians would have to deal with my jet lag and I would have no excuse to be tired in France.

The girls were right, Italy followed by France was a better plan.  It made a huge difference especially during the drive south with Claudine.  I stayed awake the entire ride and we stopped in one of my favorite places in France, Le Pont du Millau (also known as Le Viaduc de Millau).

Le Viaduc de Millau is the highest bridge tower in the world peaking at 343 metres (1,125 ft) and the views are stunning!   This enormous cable-stayed road-bridge crosses the valley of the river Tarn and is a high speed route between Paris and the South of France for vacationers.

For me it’s a sign the girls weekend has officially started and that we are halfway to our destination.  Yeah!

Enjoy!

Leslie

PS:  Credit and thanks to Claudine for the photos of me!

The amount of pictures I have to go through is overwhelming.

I’ve been wondering how I’m going to catch up if I keep taking pictures.  My goal last week was to slow down the shooting… which was the case until lunch.

I’m not a salad person, I prefer warm meals, but my oven died just before my trip and given the 90° (32°C) temperatures I haven’t been too concerned about it.

As you can imagine I’m on the NO visiting the bakery diet (even for pictures, it’s too dangerous) but these salads looked so nice I couldn’t stop myself…I had to shoot them.

What do you think?  Hungry for lunch yet?

Enjoy!

Leslie

My French boyfriend now has some serious competition but it’s okay he likes the boulanger too, especially for his chocolate cookies.

Our long distance relationship can be challenging but we still have a lot in common. We both like the goodies at the boulanger, we really like le goûter (an afternoon snack of preferably Mamie Morissette’s homemade cookies) and sitting at outdoor cafes enjoying a coffee – usually his idea because he gets the cookie not the bad coffee.

My French boyfriend also likes verifying how his picture looks on my camera’s LCD screen, “Ouaiss, c’est bien.” (Yeah, it’s nice) and asking questions like “Est-ce que c’est l’appareil de ton marie?” (Is that your husband’s camera?)… sometimes it’s better to just respond “Oui”.

I visit Clermont in July to celebrate his birthday but this past Sunday he celebrated without me.  He had requested a camera for his birthday and Papa came through with a low-cost digital camera.  His Mom reported the camera hasn’t left him since and Sunday night he told his parents “Je fais comme Leslie” (I’m like Leslie) and he started snapping pictures of all the plates of food on the dinner table.

I miss my French boyfriend (and the boulagner).  If business doesn’t pick up soon I have threatened to hire myself as his personal English teacher and his Mom has just advised photography classes will also be needed.   Not a bad combination knowing I will have unlimited access to the boulanger and Mamie Morissette’s homemade cookies.

Enjoy!

Leslie