I have lost this post in the ether twice..so please forgive me if it is a little short.
some people including myself have (very inconveniently ) a birthday next to Christmas as if the Christmas period was not enough. So anyway we will start with mine on the twenty second of December, actually it started on the twenty-first in my favourite spa and market town as requested.
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| very pretty church |
on Saturday we had grand plans of a tapas in the undercover market with friends and then cooling off in my my favourite spa. Best laid plans, our friends could sadly not make it and Marc luckily had a plan b up his sleeve, Chez Lulu on the Col de Palomier, we have heard it is pretty good and then a mountain walk with Milou. Great to be up in the mountains and on a very beautiful day but the restaurant was shut.
It was worth the trip up there just to see a shepherd and his patou and a hard working collie take a very big flock of sheep further up the mountainside. marc had plan c also...
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| one of my favourite towns, bagnere de bigorre |
We went into bagneres, way to late for tapas in the market, but there was another restaurant that marc had always wanted to try. It was fantastic! Simple ingredients the food was really tasty, a twenty euro
set menu with wine on top ....but the food was amazing, presentation and the taste was sublime.
The veloute of cucumber and celery with a fish mousse was brilliant and even the addition of potatoes and brussels did not put me off the main course! They had not infiltrated the sauce and the sauce was packed with flavour as was the stuffed chicken leg. This was followed by a three tier dessert, a palette cleanser and coffee...
fantastique!!!
On the day itself Marc cooked me snails and a french rack of lamb, also thoroughly tasty from my very own chef.
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col de palomiers
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Then follows a little sample of our own for Christmas eve and Christmas day...we have kept the pintarde (guinea fowl) for new year..that did not happen either, but that's a different story
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| scallops with lemon butter |
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| Darcy and Portly (as he is now known) ginger mouseminster!! |
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| porthos pretty on pink |
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| three of my gorgeous family... |
Some Christmas eve faire, we bought too much at Christmas like we always do and have now simplified our meals for Christmas and new year and shared it over the three days, rather than one.
The tree was down twice polystyrene baubles all over the bed in very tiny fragments, Milou and the rest of the contents all over the floor, so the lights and tinsel then went up in the spare room, or our tv room.
Happy New Year and a big thanks to my followers, i hope you will continue to follow the mad, but very good lives of our household in the Hautes Pyrenees, and wishing you all a healthy and prosperous new year for 2014
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