October 7th
Fabrice and Sylvie arrived at the house and after our introductions, we made a salad with greens, peppers, tomatoes cucumbers, goat cheese and cubed ham smothered in homemade vinegarette. Served on the side were salted radishes, a sesame baguette and herbed pate. I drank pernod and water. Everyone else drank red wine. After lunch we took a walk to the car and drove to the house of my father's friend Francis. Francis is quite a character. He built his mortar and stone house by himself. The house includes a custom wood-fired brick oven built into one of the outside walls. He also raises chickens, grows vegetables and hunts the local wild boar. In my personal opinion, Francis is the Frenchiest person I've ever met. The guy looks exactly like Asterix, and hauls stones just like Obelix. He has literally hauled thousands of stones from the surrounding mountains in order to build his house. I told him unsure of whether it would be taken well, and everyone laughed. They were amused and in hindsight I'm happy I didn't offend him. Anyway, there were some English speakers at his place hanging out, drinking, including one guy who is a biochemist in France. We talked for a while and they coaxed me into conversation. I've discovered that I speak my best French while drinking. I suppose the language is sinking in.
When people began to leave, we said our goodbyes, but not before my father promised Francis that I would cook him Blanquette de Veau. Thats my french exam for next week.
We drove back to the house in downtown Argeles and enjoyed a dinner of rum sauce spare ribs and rice. I didnt eat the hazelnut cake or tiramisu that was served for dessert. A few minutes after dinner, and with a dramatic sabre blow to the neck, my father opened a bottle of champagne outside the house. We drank a few glasses of champagne and he told us about the origin of the sabre and an 1868 American made rifle he had recovered, both from Haiti. According to his story, he found a tunnel under the house in Petionville while doing some renovation. In the tunnel he found some old tools along with the gun and sabre. His guess is that someone hid the weapons after committing some crime, but who really knows there are so many secrets in that place.
After a few hours of conversation I got fidgety and decided to take a walk before bedtime. I walked around until about midnight, made some phone calls and concluded that I had had a full day. Tintin and Pollux agreed.
Fabrice and Sylvie arrived at the house and after our introductions, we made a salad with greens, peppers, tomatoes cucumbers, goat cheese and cubed ham smothered in homemade vinegarette. Served on the side were salted radishes, a sesame baguette and herbed pate. I drank pernod and water. Everyone else drank red wine. After lunch we took a walk to the car and drove to the house of my father's friend Francis. Francis is quite a character. He built his mortar and stone house by himself. The house includes a custom wood-fired brick oven built into one of the outside walls. He also raises chickens, grows vegetables and hunts the local wild boar. In my personal opinion, Francis is the Frenchiest person I've ever met. The guy looks exactly like Asterix, and hauls stones just like Obelix. He has literally hauled thousands of stones from the surrounding mountains in order to build his house. I told him unsure of whether it would be taken well, and everyone laughed. They were amused and in hindsight I'm happy I didn't offend him. Anyway, there were some English speakers at his place hanging out, drinking, including one guy who is a biochemist in France. We talked for a while and they coaxed me into conversation. I've discovered that I speak my best French while drinking. I suppose the language is sinking in.
When people began to leave, we said our goodbyes, but not before my father promised Francis that I would cook him Blanquette de Veau. Thats my french exam for next week.
We drove back to the house in downtown Argeles and enjoyed a dinner of rum sauce spare ribs and rice. I didnt eat the hazelnut cake or tiramisu that was served for dessert. A few minutes after dinner, and with a dramatic sabre blow to the neck, my father opened a bottle of champagne outside the house. We drank a few glasses of champagne and he told us about the origin of the sabre and an 1868 American made rifle he had recovered, both from Haiti. According to his story, he found a tunnel under the house in Petionville while doing some renovation. In the tunnel he found some old tools along with the gun and sabre. His guess is that someone hid the weapons after committing some crime, but who really knows there are so many secrets in that place.
After a few hours of conversation I got fidgety and decided to take a walk before bedtime. I walked around until about midnight, made some phone calls and concluded that I had had a full day. Tintin and Pollux agreed.
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