Easter part 2

The day before Easter we began cat sitting for our neighbors, David and Stepahnie (and Manon) while they are on vacation to Turkey.
On Lundi Pacques (Easter Monday) we were invited to the Voyez's house for lunch. This is the same home we went to last Easter for lunch and we had such a nice time again.
Bernadette has MS and is in a wheel chair. She has been ill since she was 19 years old. She is a lovely woman, kind, intelligent, and fun to talk to.

Jean-Jacques is a wonderful, attentive husband. He does all the cooking and is a great chef. Everything he prepares is so yummy.
We started out with hors d'oeuvres: radishes, saucissons, tomatoes, peanuts, 2 kinds of little chips, and shrimp with dip. The juice glasses were dipped in sugar.
We next enjoyed Coquilles St. Jacques. I love this dish. It is sooooooo yummy.

The main course was lamb. This lamb was a "pre-salted" lamb. It is raised in Ireland near the sea and so the lambs eat grass that has a lot of salt in it and their meat is pre-salted. The lamb has to be ordered one year in advance because the number of lambs that they raise is limited. It was very tender and tasty. Along with that we had beans and a green salad.



Of course there was a cheese plate too. We tried a little of each cheese. There was Reflets de France crottin de Touraine. This cheese was a tiny bit sharp. Then we ate Abondance de Savoie a very mellow cheese. Next came a goat cheese which has a very distinct flavor. Then came Fourme d'Ambert which is kind of a blue cheese and finally we had Brie. All of the cheeses were really good. Whenever we eat cheese at anyone's house, there is always a discussion about each cheese. France is known for have more cheeses than days in the year.




We ended the meal with Brut de pomme, a sparkling apple juice, and apple pie.

We spent a really nice afternoon together. We talked, laughed, and listened to their 2 canaries give a concert. Dh loved those canaries. When we were leaving to go home, Jean-Jacques kindly gave us some lamb, beans, and cheese to take with us. We enjoyed eating that tonight.

Today we had to go to Calais to pick up our carte de sejour. It has taken 4 separate visits, gas, time, and 140 euros, but we finally have our cards renewed. As we drive along the road to Calais we always drive past this interesting house. It is full of WWI airplanes and artillery. I find it very interesting. We stopped along the side of the road to take a few pictures.

After we got done with all of the business stuff, we decided to go to McDonalds. We usually eat pretty healthy, but we had to try McDonalds in France. It was the first time we have gone since we got here. I must say that it was soooooo good. We each ordered a Big Mac, fries and a drink. The only difference from America was that they served a fry sauce that tasted like mayo with pickles. We just might have to go again. Ha.