WELCOME TO MY TRAVEL BLOG

I have always enjoyed traveling, even if it meant sleeping in a tent when I was younger. I prefer hotels and cruise cabins now, but the motivation is the same...an adventure waiting to happen. Sometimes you will find me traveling with my husband and/or family. Sometimes I will travel alone, and sometimes I will travel with friends. I hope you find it entertaining to keep up to date with me as I explore the world around me. Warning...I like to take pictures of food so don't read if you're hungry. More adventures await...see ya soon...Amy.

Sunday, September 6, 2015

France: A day in Limoges

We all had a very restful sleep last night. We had a full day scheduled and had an early breakfast here in the hotel. Cathy collected us at 8:30 a.m. to go to Oradour sur Glaine. It is a small village town that was massacred during WWII by the Germans. There was no reason other than to send a message of what could happen if they were met with resistance while in France. The German army came in, separated the men from the women and children and then received orders to kill everyone. The men were shot and the women and children were placed in the church and the church was set on fire. A couple of men escaped with their lives, but only one woman. The entire village was burned to the ground. Today, there is a memorial museum that was very interesting and the village is standing as a memorial to those who were lost. The village was rebuilt nearby but it is very difficult for the inhabitants as the reminder of what happened is very close. When the people were killed and then burned, most of the bones were swept together in a pile to be buried. Because of this, the bones were unable to be identified and have been buried all together in a mass memorial grave in the cemetery. It is very, very sad to go there but something that needs to be remembered. We left Oradour sur Glaine and drove to Christophe and Patricia's house for lunch. We were greeted with Champagne and appetizers. Patricia served us tuna on bread, canteloupe, and pistachios. Christophe is a connoisseur of wine and always has the best selections. The Champagne we were served is probably my favorite champagne that I have ever had. I made sure to take a picture of the label in case I needed to try and find it in the U.S.. We visited and caught up on everyone's news. We are so surprised that Martin and Marion have grown up so much. Martin is 16 and taking his driver's education course. He cannot get a license until 18 but can drive with his parents. He would like to major in Agriculture one day. Marion is 14 and a budding artist. She would like to use her talents to study Architecture. For lunch we had Coquilles Saint Jacques which is Scallops with a leek and lemon sauce, Veal with a cream sauce, and Haricot Vert (green beans). Everything was fantastic! With that we were served a white wine with the scallops and a red wine with the veal. The cheese course was next. The cheeses were goat and sheep cheese which I am not fond of but Danny, Noah, and Hallie found several that they liked. I don't remember which wine was served with the cheese but it was good. The last course was dessert and what a treat! Marion made Moelleux au chocolat in tiny portions which looked like brownie bites but were little moist pieces of yumminess! She shared her recipe with me which is written in french so I will need a little interpretation! They also had a variety platter of sweets which were delicious but we all agreed that Marion's chocolate cakes were the best! Oh, and Christophe served a very good Sauterne wine with dessert that was also very good. After lunch we drove with Tonton Michel to visit with Tata Francois. She is in a nursing home facility because of problems with her health and memory.  She still has her beautiful smile and she remembered who we were. She seemed genuinely happy to see us and we enjoyed our time with her. We then drove to Cathy's house where she had prepared some light refreshments for us. We were joined by Christophe and his family for more visiting. We sat outside of Cathy's new house as the weather has been cool and clear. For dinner, we went to Tonton Michel's house where he prepared one of his "specialties". It was a very well seasoned ground meat dish served in tomatoes and all of it was roasted in the oven. He served it with rice and it was so delicious! I believe I will ask Cathy if he will share the recipe! Christophe shared two more wines with us and I can honestly say that everything he poured for us was wonderful. The cheese course that followed dinner contained very strong cheeses from around the different regions of France. Danny and Noah enjoyed tasting the different ones, but Hallie and I did not have the fromage. Tonton Michel knows that I like chocolat and he purchased a cake with 3 different chocolate mousse layers. I know I keep saying that everything was delicious but everything truly was delicious! We have enjoyed seeing and visiting with our French family. They are so special to us and a beautiful reminder of Danny's mother, Marguerite. We are also delighted that they practice their English with us as we do not know very much French. They do a really great job and when in doubt we have the dictionary and Google translate. So tomorrow we will leave our Limoges family and travel to Bayeux. We will stop in Le Mans along the way and pick up cousin Marie Noelle. So until tomorrow...

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