We have been going for hikes in the surrounding area. For this outing we started at the foot of the Château in Lavardin, about a twenty minute drive away. We enjoyed the cliffs with troglodyte dwellings on one side of Lavardin, the view. the town itself and a path along the Loir river.
The sun came out for the family lunch that MD had planned. She made a delicious Moroccan Lamb Tajine.
It is a rainy day. I sit on the veranda and enjoy the bucolic view as I sip my hot coffee and check email.
MD’s farmhouse, where we are staying, was built in 1897. We are just 15 minutes by car from lovely Vendôme which is located on the Le Loir tributary of La Loire. Vendôme is a pleasing venue for long walks.
The birds are giddy with Spring libido. We have been tracking them in the dense foliage of trees with binoculars. It is much easier to get an eye-full at a feeder, but cousin MD’s had fallen down because the post rotted. So the morning project was born.
Ahhh, back in France.
This was our abundant cheese board at lunch today at MD’s. The Le Mothais goat cheese wrapped in chestnut tree leaves was remarkable for its flavor and my favorite. When finished, we set the whole cheese board in a small garde-manger used as a garde-fromages where it fits perfectly. The cheeses are kept in a cool pantry by an open window, not in the refrigerator, so that they are ready to eat and not too cold to taste.
We hiked up to the Frankenstein fortification through green woods full of birds and a variety of wildflowers. There are 67 Nabingers (original spelling of Glen's surname) in the phone book here and he spoke with two. One was an 80 year old woman who can read without glasses and is very quick, literally and figuratively ,and very nice.
