Visiting my French boyfriend and my new love (la boulanger) are not the only reasons I visit Clermont Ferrand each year.

I love Claudine’s French kitchen and the weekly deliveries of freshly prepared food from her mother-in-law Mamie Nicole (Grandma Nicole).

Mamie Nicole is a rock star!  She will be turning 80 this year and she still prepares home cooked meals daily with fresh ingredients from her garden.

Her carrots, peas, and baby potatoes are amazing. They are sweet yet savory and are probably prepared in best quality lard and butter Auvergne has to offer.  Julia Child would be proud.

I like to think Mamie Nicole likes me too because when Claud and I return from the girls weekend I verify with Richard the size of the weeks delivery.  Extra-large!

For le petit déjeuner et le goûter (breakfast and afternoon snacks) Mamie Nicole sends delicious buttery Madeleines from her local boulanger but Mamie Morissette (Grandma Morissette), who is also a rock star, has these meals covered with fresh baked cookies that Claudine stores by the truckload in her freezer.

I don’t know what’s in those cookies (possibly something from the local pharmacy) but there is no stopping at one.  And although I couldn’t tell you how many I eat, I will admit that the tin is usually empty the day Claudine brings me back to the airport.

I’ve been lobby for overnight delivery to NY for a while.  Mamie Nicole and Mamie Morissette would make a killing (who wouldn’t want Grandma Direct?!?!).   But even with overnight delivery of the Grandma’s’ goodies I can’t imagine a year that I don’t visit Clermont.

It’s not the place or the food it’s the people.  See you next year Claud!

Leslie

“As you grow older, you’ll find that the only things you regret are the things you didn’t do.” -Zachary Scott

This post is less about photos and more about the serious part of the girls weekend when we talk about our goals and objectives.  This always happens at our last main meal together.

It isn’t an easy conversation because not only do we look back over the past six months at what we have or haven’t accomplished, we look forward and recommit to the six months ahead.

All three of us have some big goals to work on and even though we won’t see each other for another six months we are constantly sharing updates, advice and support, while cheering each other on (even during the crappy weeks) via email.

My goals include securing steady income from my consulting, being able to afford health care coverage and continuing to grow my photography skills for potential income.

I love Elizabeth Gilbert’s quote “To travel is worth any cost or sacrifice.”. Continuing to travel is another goal and it’s one of the most important things I do but unfortunately there is no trust fund or gifts supporting it (there never has been), just a healthy mix of know-how, sacrifice, and risk taking.

This week the NYTimes.com’s second most emailed article is “But Will It Make You Happy?”.  In the past twelve months I’ve happily given up almost all the extras and instant gratifiers in my life to save everywhere and anywhere I can for travel. I prefer risks to regrets.

Photographer and blogger Karen Walrond posted in February “100+ Things I’d Like to Do Before I Go”.  Her list is wonderful and it made me stop and feel grateful for the goals I’ve already accomplished like  #6. Scuba dive in Bali – (I’ll never scuba diving but I’ve been to Bali), #9. Visit Tokyo – (two trips and hopefully more in the future) #19.  Visit the very top of the Eiffel Tower – (many times, just not recently) and the ones on my list still waiting to be checked.

Travel may not be on your list but what goals do you want to accomplish before you go?  The girls and I have gotten started on ours, have you started on yours?

Merci les filles!!!  See you in six months!!

Leslie

The goal of visiting Marseille was not just to see the sites, it was to enjoy the local cuisine.

One of Mapie’s friends gave us a list of restaurant options for dinner. I don’t know how the girls selected it but they chose a small local seafood restaurant tucked into a hidden corner of Marseille.

It was a typical seaside restaurant, overlooking a scenic cove filled with leisure and fishing boats.

It was perfect and the food delicious.   The girls and I are very lucky when we are together.

I hope you’re lucky enough to find and visit the restaurant Au Bord de L’Eau too, but if not take a minute to enjoy a visit right here.

Enjoy!

Leslie

I try to keep my posts short but it can be challenging when I have a lot of pictures to share.

Whenever I take pictures of food, the number of images quickly multiplies.

And the amount of images to cull through can be overwhelming.

And it obviously was overwhelming because I completely overlooked sharing one of my favorite images from the market.

The cheese! I forgot the cheese!  My pictures don’t do it justice but I promise it was beautiful.

And although the aroma was slightly potent, the cheese itself was not only beautiful it was delicious… Have you ever seen moldy cheese look so beautiful?

See more market photos on Flickr!

Enjoy!

Leslie

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