Monday, July 29, 2024

France 2024 – Days 57 and 58 – Bergerac

One of the best things about being back home is that I am finally able to enjoy a cold and tasty Giulia beer. She brought me four bottles of her own brew, admonishing me that they would not be ready to drink until July. Guess what? We are in the middle of July and I can enjoy a cool glass of beer in the warmth of the sunny afternoon of southwestern France. I am also realizing that I now have less of a month before this European adventure comes to an end

Today Saturday is market day in Bergerac, so after working for a few hours in the early morning I went to stroll through the colorful fruit and vegetable stands, gawk at the exotic mushrooms, capture the aroma of the smelly cheeses, and search for that treasure you can only find in a French market. Eureka! Hidden in a corner of the butcher’s stand I found a cervelle de veau. Having one of the ingredients of a delicious dish reminded me that I needed other basics, since I had emptied my fridge before going to Spain, so I had to pay a visit to my supermarket, where I also found langue de boeuf à la vinaigrette. Now I needed more additional ingredients, so I went to my second supermarket, where I found some blood sausage that would go great in a paella (and I had brought saffron with me from Spain), which in turn triggered the need for a good assortment of fruit de mer that I could buy at my third supermarket. While I was there, I might as well get a steak of tuna and a liter of gazpacho. Hmm … how about if I make a fideua instead of a paella? That means I will have to go back to my first supermarket to buy the fideos. In short, in just a morning I have packed my tiny refrigerator with delicious things to cook and eat.

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