Limoges with the Judes

Quite a spread for breakfast

My favorites, pan au chocolat and croissant, grapefruit and cafe au lait (decaf of course)

The logo on the plates at breakfast made for the hotel. Very interesting....

A typical street in Limoges

Trompe L'oeil on an old building. The windows in the front are not real

A very old street in Limoges

The Farmer's Market

The most delicious strawberries I have ever eaten. These came from the Farmer's market

The indoor market

There were ladies everywhere with their rolling carts buying food for the week

The flowers on the lamp posts remind Edna of Michigan

Buissere Chocolaterie

Buissere Chocolates. The caramels are also delicious!

I rarely make it into photos, but here is me outside of my favorite chocolate shop in Limoges

The oldest bridge in Limoges

The Restaurant for lunch

Travis's Goat Cheese appetizer came wrapped in thin slivers of cucumber.

My Butcher's Cut with potatoes au gratin. The most delicious potatoes I think I have ever eaten!

Edna and Renee's Monkfish was presented in the bag it was cooked in

Danny's Pork Filet Mignon

Travis's Spaghallini

Travis's creme brulee came flaming with a marshmallow to toast!

Danny's dessert....chocolate with a pistachio and strawberry layer

Edna and I both had this and probably should have shared it! A dark rich chocolate mousse on top of a layer of salted caramel. Crispy chocolate candies and a chocolate spoon!

Renee's dessert. I forgot to ask Renee what it was. Isn't it beautiful?

Lunch with the Jude Family

Ton Ton Michel and Ta Ta Francois (Marguerite's youngest sister)

Edna and Renee with cousin Cathy

Travis and Danny with Christophe and his family

Ton Ton Michel and Ta Ta Francois's home for the afternoon

Cousin Cathy's home is the top two floors of blue shutters

Christophe's home for a light dinner

Canapes are always fun to try and figure out what they might be before you eat them

Fantastic little sausages and Chorizo

Surprise Bread!!

Christophe and Cathy talking wine and regions with Danny and Travis

Cathy and her son Guillome

Christophe and Patrice with Martin (left) and Marion (right)

Renee, Edna, Danny and Travis with Ton Ton Michel and Ta Ta Francois

Renee, Edna, Danny and Travis with their Jude family in Limoges

Our heads hit the pillow hard last night and we were exhausted! Danny, Travis and I had agreed last night to eat breakfast at 8:30 this morning. Since we went to bed at 9 p.m., we thought that would be plenty of time for rest and it was for us. We ate breakfast here in the hotel and I was delighted to find Hallie's favorite, Nutella, for a spread on brioche. Needless to say with croissants and honey, pan au chocolat, and the brioche, it was a little sugar overload but I eat like this only in France! Edna and Renee did not join us for breakfast as they didn't wake up until 8:30!! This was a great surprise to them to sleep so late. Apparently they needed the rest! After breakfast, Travis, Danny and I went to the Monoprix (like a french Target) which is in the square outside of our hotel. Travis was looking for some Coke Light (Diet Coke) and I needed another pair of reading glasses as I lost one of my two pair on the plane. I actually own about 10 pair because I can never find them, so it didn't surprise me that I would lose one on the plane...silly me. Travis is planning on staying up for the LSU game which will air at 1:00 a.m. on the internet so he went back to the hotel for a nap before Cathy came to get us. There was still plenty of morning left so Danny and I went wandering around the old part of Limoges which is right outside of our hotel. Cathy had toured us in 2004 so we remembered a lot of what we saw. One of my favorite places is Buissere, a chocolatier which Cathy says is the best in Limoges! I am so fortunate that it is around the corner from the hotel! It was Saturday and everyone was shopping for their food. We found the outdoor farmer's market and bought some strawberries. The variety was Marie du Bois. They were the most delicious strawberries I have ever eaten. They tasted like they were dipped in sugar! We also found the indoor market which had the most beautiful produce, meats, fruits, breads, and anything else you would want to eat. While wandering, we got a little turned around, but we knew our hotel was near the cathedral and as long as we kept the bell tower in view, we knew we would find our way back and we did. Renee and Edna had eaten a late breakfast and Travis was napping when we returned to the hotel. I watched Edna create a watercolor in her journal of the view outside of her hotel window while Renee checked her email. Cathy and her parents, Ton Ton Michel and Ta Ta Francois, collected us at 12:00 to meet with the rest of the family at a restaurant located at the oldest bridge in Limoges. Whenever we see our French family, it is an emotional time for all of us. Francois was Danny's mother Marguerite's youngest sister. We see some of Marguerite in all of the aunts and we all miss her, especially her children. We wiped our tears quickly and made our way to the restaurant. The name of the restaurant was Le Pont Saint Etienne. We met Cathy's brother, Christophe, his wife Patrice and children, Marion (9), and Martin (who we think is 12). They were so small when we were here 6 years ago and now they are grown and absolutely precious. We also met with Cathy's son, Guillome who is the same age as my son Ben, born in the same month. Cathy's daughter, Lorraine is older and does not live in Limoge, so we did not get to see her on this trip. Christophe's children adore Guillome much like Travis's children adore Ben. We had a fabulous lunch and the presentation of the food was almost too beautiful for us to eat it, but we did. Our meals with our family generally take quite a long time and this was no exception. Lucky for us, the cousins speak really good English and the conversation never stopped. Two hours later we left the restaurant and walked along the bridge, admiring the Vienne River. Cathy and her parents then drove us to Cathy's apartment which was a new place for her. She wanted us to see it not only because it is her home, but because it is an example of a very old building that has been renovated into apartments. Her apartment is a two story at the top with two bedrooms and two baths. It is the perfect size for her and Guillome shares it with her as he finishes his study in Biology at the University. The renovation is very beautiful and we enjoyed visiting with her and seeing her home. We then drove to Ton Ton Michel and Ta Ta Francois's home in the country. Actually Renee tells me that they used to live fairly isolated in the country and now there are so many homes around them with a new one being built right across the street. Ton Ton Michel has a garden and Ta Ta Francois has beautiful flowers. This is the end of the flower season, but her yard was still lovely. We sat in their living room and thoroughly enjoyed an old film from a visit that Renee made in 1965 and later Edna came in 1966. They were both 12 on their respective trips, and Renee made the trip alone both ways, and Edna alone on the return trip! We all thought of our children at 12 years of age and couldn't imagine sending them on an overseas trip alone. How times have changed. The temperature outside is mildly warm but without humidity or bugs. It was very pleasant to sit outside and enjoy a light soda and cookies. We went to Christophe's home for dinner. We had been told that we would have a light meal and we weren't surprised to find champagne and a variety of crudites, nuts, fruit, and chorizo on the table. Oh and Christy we had Surprise Bread again! Surprise Bread is a round loaf of bread divided into thin layers and then the layers are made into different types of sandwiches. I remembered, from prior experience there, not to eat the first layer which was salmon (which I don't care for). The second layer was ham which suited me better. All in all, the favorite of the others had to be the goat cheese and walnuts layer, although I agree that the tomato, eggplant and herbs came in a close second. After we had eaten our fill, we went inside only to discover that there would be more courses! Tomatoes (from Ton Ton Michel's garden) with basil and mozzarella, salad, salami, pork, and a savory cake of some sort. Christophe is a connoisseur of wine and has his own wine cellar in his home. He selected 2 wines for the evening, a red and white, and enjoyed telling about the origin of each. The red wine was bottled in the same year as the birth of his daughter Marion (2001) which was a very good year apparently. Danny and his siblings enjoy the French wines and say they are so much better than our American wine. I drink the juice with the children and our French family has learned to tolerate that. The next course was a cheese course with three cheeses...a goat cheese that Danny and his siblings said was the best they had ever eaten, a gouda with cumin seeds, and another mild cheese that started with an A??? I couldn't quite understand what they called it. Then Patrice followed with a Tiramisu that she had made herself! It was wonderful. The cafe cognac that she used in it was light and yummy. Christophe brought out one more wine that was very sweet (a Sauternes) to serve with dessert. The French do not drink coffee with dessert like we do. They have it last after dessert. Travis drank coffee as that LSU game would come soon, but the rest of us were either too full or didn't need the caffeine. The French coffee is also VERY strong! We had arrived at Christophe's around 7:30 and at 10:45 we knew it was time to leave for the hotel. We made an error in our timing today and noone remembered that we were supposed to pick up a rental car for our trip to Le Mans tomorrow. The rental place closed at 5 and Danny remembered at 4:45. It will not open until 12 tomorrow so we will be delaying our departure a few hours. This is lucky for Travis who will get to catch up on his sleep a little. It is almost 1 now and I will say Geaux Tigers and leave the game for Travis. Bonne Nuit (Good Night)