I wake up at fucking 7 AM. Horrendous. We need to get to the train station early to travel south. Getting up early on holidays is surely in violation of the Geneva Convention…
The ‘foto incident’ is still in my mind but I am over it. I shall have the memories with me.
We catch a train to Toulon (4hr trip on the super quick TGV), traversing literally all of France in this time.
We arrive at Lea’s family house…should I say mansion…or estate? It is a convent built in the 17th century. It has room to sleep 50 ppl. There are 4 separate houses off the main building. There is a tennis court. And a 20m long x 5m wide x 3m deep ‘basin’ (swimming pool), full of carp, with lions at each end shooting water…
I spend like 5 hrs reading by the pool
Lunch is salad de tomates, baguette, tapenade, fresh olives from the estate, jambon, terrine, melon, local 08 rose de provence. This is the life.
Dinner is to be a touch surreal.
We are driven half an hour to a huge house half way up a hill, gazing out onto the bay in front of Toulon. It is owned by an ex French national rugby player, all 210cm and 120kg of him. A mountain. The house is a kitchen, an open room with a pool, 2 bedrooms, a lounge and bathrooms. We have access to all but the bedrooms and lounge.
Dining takes place on a totally open deck with a 200degree view. Amazing. We are there this evening with one other table only.
The rugby player cooks whilst his wife serves. We have rouge (small fish about twice the size of whitebait, but with far more flavour), floured and dipped in lemon and chilli. We have squid with aubergine, lardons, tomato, pesto. Then morue (a giant white sea fish) with a tough meaty texture, served on more eggplant with an eschallot and onion jam. To finish, sorbet d’abricot et fraises, with molten choc puddings.
We drink chateau valentine 2008 provence blanc??? Tastes of viognier and sauvignon all wrapped together. It is spicy, fragrant, crisp and refreshing. (nb I later discover it is a blend of rolle and ugni blanc…oops)
A truly amazing setting, with dinner served in a unique way.
I have eaten too much tho and crash as soon as i get home, having to decline the offer of a digestif (eau de vie de prune). Next time.
Ps got on the scales, no noticeable change but I FEEL fatter…hmmm. Time to eat more.
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