Warm temperatures, warm cheeses

July 29, 2010

tags: Chateau de Cocove, Currencies Direct, Eating Out In France, Eating Out In Mornas, Food & wine, Food and wine in France, Le Manoir, Mornas, Moving To France, Sunny France

With the arguable exception of the meal at the North’s, in the urine stained, gale lashed zipped up gazebo, which was technically outside, Le Manoir at Mornas gives us the first opportunity to eat outside since we set foot in England.

Situated very near to Mondragon, I promised that nice lady decorator that I would make no mention of that town or make any link to her, so I will not mention anything of the kind..

We are sitting in the pretty courtyard at le Manoir, beers in hand, shorts rescued from suitcases, where they have laid un-used for the last 3 weeks whilst we have been in grim, grimy, doleful England.

We are listening to a deafening tirade from the cicadas in the huge pine trees. I hope my picture shows this, well, not the cicadas, obviously, and very well priced at 76 euros a night, about £65 at current exchange rates

Le Manoir at Mornas, cheap to stay, expensive to eat

I also show the picture of Chateau de Cocove I planned for yesterday

Chateau de Cocove - first taste of civilisation in nearly a month

But the main thing is it is warm. 27 degrees is just about perfect beer o clock weather at 6 30pm. Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed England, a serious dose of carbohydrates at each meal, the beer, and seeing old friends has been a delight, I just wish all my friends would move to somewhere more hospitable and less politically correct!

Take the night before last at Chateau de Cocove for instance. The cheese board served in England would have caused the health or food or hygiene inspection brigade to have closed the place on the spot. A range of beautiful cheeses, especially an over-ripe brie with walnuts and a bleu de Bresse which was to die for, and a dozen others untried this time, all clearly kept somewhere warm and moist for most of the afternoon, not frozen to death, then presented cold an unappetising, or lighty micowaved so as to be frozen in the middle and runny on the outside.

The French are sometimes very clever, they let the Germans make the rules in the EEC, the English pedantically obey the rules to the letter and the French just ignore the rules when they are stupid. There are at least 2 places I could name in Valbonne where ashtrays are provided, albeit later in the evening after meals are completed, thus allowing a cigar smoker a chance to enjoy a good smoke.

Another example of brilliant interpretation of the rules which helped swell the Polish population s few years ago when Poland joined the EU, was the French welcome to all those Poles who wanted to come to France as long as they had TB innoculations!

The French had worked out that TB was rife in Poland, so the result was that the vast majority headed for the soft touch, England which had no such restriction.

Last night the edge was taken off dinner at Le Manoir, on a lovely terrace, by the noise of the motorway 300 metres away. Spoiled by the tranquillity of the preious evening< and with decent but unexceptional food, cold gambas salad was a little disapointing although the coquillies were good, but the whole thing was a tad over priced. Looks to me as if the Hotel is a loss leader for the restuarant!

Chris France

buying a house in France, moving money? www.currenciesdirect.net/chrisfrance

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