Home from Provence

 

Coming home from Provence yesterday I was a little bit triste. 

How was Paris going to feel. In fact it feels wonderful.

Sometimes it takes time to come back to earth, but instead I feel refreshed and inspired. 

After such a wonderful trip. We did different things everyday. We ate in local places. And we ate in at Wlady and Shannon’s charming apartment. Everyone in the town of Villeneuve was so friendly. That doesn’t happen often on a short trip. 

The food, the colors, the aromas, always fresh, seasonal and inventive. We were surrounded by beauty. 

I tried copying Chardin’s pile of berries (from the Louvre) while we filled jam jars with delicious berries

Always a fun challenge 🍓

The view out my window at Hotel de l’Atelier.never disappoints. 

Imade a little jam watercolor for the hotel proprietor. 

For our last dinner, Wlady and Shannon cooked up a perfect storm of beautiful food.

White asparagus in béarnaise sauce, a tajine of chicken and the piece de resistance, individual roasted strawberry tarts with mandarine gelato! 

Just that morning I had declared I would not be going to the big brocante fair in Villeneuve’s huge parking lot. 

But on our early morning stroll, Gemma, the Hound of Baskerville, led me 

To a perfect storm of French check 1930’s Lustucru enamelware that blew my socks off,

Any still life artist’s dream come true. That naughty Gemma. Bad dog! Here’s proof I can make a crazy mess in my hotel room as well as at home. Of course, Bear 🐻 is not best pleased to have stayed home and missed out on the shopping spree. Please share with your friends and visit my Etsy shop for lovely Real Paris mail 💌 in your mailbox 📮 Bonne Tuesday PBers!

Chocolate Letter Reseach

 

Doing chocolate research 🔬 is one of the easiest things you can do in Paris, especially for the November Paris Letter.

Still I could not discover from Google how many chocolate shops are in Paris! Many ‘10 Bests’ list - oui. How many shops ? - non

Chocolate Retreat in Provence

 

I forgot on Monday to mention I’m running off next day (6:00 am /TGV) to Villeneuve les Avignon, In fact I overslept (a first) and woke up at 5:01! Oh la la la la

Somehow I made it to the train, just.🤸‍♂️Villeneuve is a stunning, small, medieval Provencal village you never heard of, just 10 minutes outside Avignon .

I am here for a 5-day chocolate 

And jam retreat. And yes, it is a religious experience. I lost count of the times I died & went to heaven this week.

Darling  Shannon and Wlady Grochowski of La Châtelaine Chocolat Co. of Montana and Burgundy are our celestial guides. “So kind of you to let me come”,😊 Shannon and Wlady (is 100% Parisian btw).

We stayed at heavenly l’Atelier de hotel.My room is much bigger than my Paris chambre de bonne.

My atelier in the Hotel de l’Atelier. 

I am trying hard to remember what croissants look like. Practice makes perfect🥐🥐🥐

Across the street Shannon explains about les herbes de Provence and the famous Provençal garrigue. 

We will infuse our tempered chocolate with thyme, menthe & jasmin Shannon hand-picked herself. 

Such pretty place settings Shannon set out for each of us! 

We attack the chocolate.

We try desperately not to give into dipping into the Valrhona melted chocolate 🍫 with our fingers. Some of us succumb. Oscar Wilde said, “ The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it”.

After much blood, sweat and tears over the melting chocolate

We go back to the hotel’s outdoor garden for an l’apero and grignote/snacks)

Then a strawberry tarte (4 different kinds of berries) Shannon threw together. Oh la la la

Meet Gemma on the team. I am allowed to walk her as much as I want, though she flirts with everyone equally and not as discriminating as she might be.

More croissant studies from day 2, jam-making day!🤸‍♂️ More to come dear PBers. Please share and visit my Etsy shop for lovely Real Paris mail 💌 in your mailbox 📮