Rules to Abide by When Walking in the Alps (10/01)

Welcome to the Alpine pastures of the Haute Savoie. Help us conserve the quality of this region.

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Take your garbage with you,

animals cannot digest it and nor can nature!!!

* * * * * * * * Grass is precious, please drive and park in authorised areas.
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Fences are necessary, please close the gates after you pass through them.
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Keep your dog on a lead, as it might scare the flocks.
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This is great advise to follow not only when walking in Alpine pastures, but also at home.

This message was brought to you by the Haute Savoie Conseil Général: www.cg74.fr/index.html

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Lunch at Châlet Rosiers (10-01)

My sister-in-law joined us on Wednesday morning. We popped into Doussard to the Shopi and une boulangerie to pick up some essentials, then went back to Châlet Rosiers for lunch.
As figs were in the height of season, my sister-in-law taught me how to choose the perfect fig: they should be soft (like a peach), but not too mushy.

We also had some ham that my mother-in-law cooked and some French salami.

My sister-in-law made her speciality: tomatoes with a sprinkling of sea salt, chopped garlic and a drizzle of salad dressing.

I was tasked with making the salad dressing for the two weeks, which was a big honor as my father-in-law is the master and had originally taught me how to make it years ago. Following the ratio of three parts olive oil to one part vinegar, I add a sprinkle of sea salt and sugar, one tbsp of Dijon mustard. This particular time I also added one clove of chopped garlic and a couple pinches of herbes de Provence.

This was also the first time I had tried a fresh fig, so I'm glad she was an expert at selecting them. She also showed me how to prepare and eat them. I was a little apprehensive of eating the skins, but they are very soft, not unlike peach skin. Not a huge fan of the Newton, I was pleasantly surprised by the taste. The taste was similar to a peach mixes with strawberries.

It was a very simple lunch, easy to prepare, but J and I agree that it was easily one of the most memorable meals of our trip. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, we were sitting outside on the balcony and it was so nice to catch up with my sister-in-law. We don't get to see her nearly as often as we like, so we always enjoy each minute we get to spend with her.

Drinks I Love: St Germain au Cidre

This has been a very busy week with work, photography, and meetings. When I got home this evening I realized that I had been so busy that I had failed to notice that we were out of wine! We were out of mixers, G&T or Pimm's were not an option, so I had to get my thinking cap on... I have a draw in my fridge with ice cold cider, but after such a hard week, I deserved something a little more than 5% alcohol. Enter St. Germain Elderflower Liquor. I used to get a still elderflower/apple cider in the UK and the flavor combination was excellent, so I decided to give it a go. First I poured the bottle of cider into a glass, then I added roughly a shot of St. Germain. The results were divine. Definitely a good combination for a hot day, and a welcomed combination after a hard week.

Now I'm off to sort out some more photos so I can post more than day two of my trip over the weekend.

Until than - santé!

Annecy - Lunch at L'Auberge du Lyonnais (9/30)

After a busy morning shopping at Annecy's lovely market, we were ready for lunch! At the recommendation of my in-laws, we chose L'Auberge du Lyonnaise. Located in the Old Town of Annecy on the bank of the Thiou Canal, it was an ideal spot to have lunch during the week when we normally would have been at work. We reserved a lovely table in the shade on the pavement at 12:45 for lunch.

The sun had broken through the haze and it was turning into a very warm day, so we chose a cold bottle of Apremont. It couldn't come quickly enough and it was accompanied by a plate of jambon pastry pinwheels.

We opted for the week menu which offered two starters, two main courses (one fish and one beef), and two deserts to chose from.

J and I chose the Tomato and Feta Cheese in Filo Pastry Shell. Drizzled with a little olive oil, it was sublime! With dishes like this, it can be so tempting to add too much to it, a drizzle of Balsamic Reduction - or other sauce, I was so happy that they didn't. The sweet, rich flavor of the lightly roasted tomatoes went so well with the salty, creamy feta. This was proving to be a very good choice for lunch...

... then came the main course: Faux Filet, à point. Now if I could scream it from the roof tops: I LOVE FRENCH BEEF!!! This was just a simple steak: good quality beef, cooked well, seasoned with a little sea salt. So simple, so perfect. America is known for it's steak houses, but the best steaks I've ever had have mostly been in France. Even my favorite local steak is at a French restaurant. I LOVE FRENCH STEAK!!! Ok, regroup... The steak was joined by:

...creamy, smooth mashed potatoes drizzled with a little jus, and my favorite, haricot vert.

Dessert was something chocolaty that didn't impress me enough to take a photo, and didn't really leave much of a memory. To be fair though, I was a state of food bliss from the preceding courses, not to mention also very full, it would have taken something insanely amazing to live up to all of that.

~ L'auberge du Lyonnais ~

9 rue de la République

74000 Annecy

contact@auberge-du-lyonnais.com

Tél. 04 50 51 26 10 Fax. 04 50 51 05 04

For more info on the restaurant and hotel, along with beautiful photos and their menus, please click the following link: http://www.auberge-du-lyonnais.com/

Annecy - Traiteur Pauvert (9/30)

In the heart of Annecy, Traiteur Pauvert has been around for six generations, providing high quality, reliable products in their boutique and through catering. They have a fantastic selection of prepared salads, sweets, and meets, which completely made me miss having Morton's Gourmet Market in Lakewood Ranch.

The Galette aux Courgette looked divine. Sadly, we passed, but this is yet another recipe I'm going to try to concur in the upcoming months.

Boudin a la creme is a creamy pig's blood sausage. We decided to also pass on this, but for different reasons. The residue on the knife just didn't do it for me. But to be fair, with the exception of Toulouse, I'm not really a sausage fan.

They had a lovely selection of prepared dishes, quiches, and tarts.

Colorful, gelatinous fish dishes.

Le salades

Le sweets

TRAITEUR PAUVERT

4, rue Grenette 74000 ANNECY

Tél. : +33 (0)4 50 45 01 56 - Fax : +33 (0)4 50 45 64 50

For more info, please click the following link: www.traiteur-annecy.com/

Annecy - Better Safe Than Sorry (9/30)

This was the fist of many we spotted in France. In addition to public restrooms, the French take the very responsible attitude of placing condom machines throughout their villages, towns, and cities. Yes, this is outside... in public on a busy walkway... attached to the outside of a Medieval building. There are many bars & cafes in the area, so how thoughtful of the government (or whomever) to place these in easy access areas in which people pass on the way back to their cars with their dish du jour!