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| COLLETTE'S TABLE - 2004 |
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After helping me dismantle my
last van in Chambery (my home base for the past
three months), my friend Pierre Ludi, the Alps
Angel who helped me outfit our vans with custom
bike racks for our Tour de France trip, invited
me to join a couple of the AG2R folks at his
home in the mountains for a ride and lunch the
next day.
We met late morning and Pierre led us on a 100
km course that you cycling types would absolutely
love. Tiny roads. No cars -- maybe saw five
or six the whole ride. Fer-real gentle climbing
(I have been accused of underestimating the
grade of climbs in the past :-)) and gentle
descents through the foothills of the Alps.
It was hot hot hot, and when we arrived at his
home, his wife, Colette, had a beautiful table
set under the shade of an enormous tree. Pierre's
son, Johan was there, with his girlfriend Marina,
who was the Caravane Girl in the big horse float
that leads the whole Tour caravane!! She danced
up there for three weeks straight. Oh, and an
aunt and cousin attended, along with the grandmother,
who was the owner of the over-100-year-old home
when she was a young woman.
It was such a fabulous day. The lunch was, well,
almost three hours, starting with an aperitif
of Pastis, and then one beautiful course after
another (the lamb raised by the uncle down the
road, the vegetables from Colette's garden)
served with an appropriate wine brought up from
the chill of the family cellar. Oh, the first
dessert was Fromage Blanc (the first time I've
had it, and I'm so glad I did, because I learned
how to really enjoy it: drizzled with Crème
Fraiche on top, then sprinkled with your choice
of either sugar, or salt, or fresh ground black
pepper powder). The second dessert was an apple
tart. And after coffee, they spooned cherries
marinated in brandy into the coffee cup. Suck
on a few of those and you'll be napping on the
table in nothing flat!
The meal conversation was so funny -- the table
was filled with laughter and joking. They talked
of the young cousin’s developing breasts
and how fast they were growing and how big they
were getting. It was hilarious as all of us turned
to check them out. But what I thought was funny
was that I was trying to follow the conversation
and saw all the attention go to this young lady's
breast area, but I couldn't quite figure out what
we were talking about. When Johan translated for
me, then, of course, we were all refocused on
"the occasion", decorated with a gorgeous
black bra (the French do know their lingerie)
under a skimpy little top. It was all just so
normal, without a touch of discomfort or embarrassment
on anyone's part as there might be in the U.S.
Of course, after lunch, in typical French style,
we lounged in chairs in the shade. And when
I finally made an effort to leave (I didn’t
want to go and could have stayed well into the
evening, but in my uptight U.S. style felt I
should probably not overstay my welcome...)
Colette asked me if I had seen her garden --
she was so proud to show me all the things she
grows and then prepared for the table. I was
quite impressed as I chomped a few fresh haricot
verte -- it really was Peter Rabbit's dream
garden. And Pierre and Colette both showed me
the small lake on the property teeming with
fish. Pierre indicated with his arms how big
they are -- monsters I tell you!
Reluctantly, I climbed into my little Peugot 206,
which they had moved throughout the day to keep
it in the shade, and sped down the lonely roads
to Chambery, deeply satisfied by the pleasures
of a day spent with my new French family, missing
them already, and longing for more.
Kim McElhinney
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Pierre and Johan
at Colette's table
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Bernard and Veronique
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Brandied cherries
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Post-ride relaxation
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