After lunch

You know you're in the Midi when lunch finishes at 7 p.m. This is a very shaky, low-light (atmospheric?) shot of the lights on the plane trees in the centre of the village as I came home. It was a beautiful sunny day and our friends have a lovely view of the village from their dining table, but I took no photos as I was too busy eating, drinking and talking. We started with white wine and tapas with different patés on toasts - artichoke, anchovy, aubergine, and foie gras, of course. (Vegetarians look away now) the first course was slices of fresh foie gras fried very quickly and served with onion and fig confits. The main course was a roast capon (raised in the village) with potatoes roasted in duck fat, then several cheeses including Roquefort (which comes from the mountains near here) and then two desserts, a mandarin cake and caramel and pear ice cream. We tasted many different wines: one from Bordeaux and one from Burgundy were put in the kitchen for cooking with later as they weren't anything like as good as the local ones (to all our tastes, anyway). And, as well as the red wines, a couple of bottles of Blanquette de Limoux, the Midi's own méthode champenoise sparkling wine.

Just when LoJ and I were saying we should go home, the cherries which had been steeped in alcohol since 2004 were put on the table....and it would have been rude to refuse them with our coffee!

We are so lucky to have made such good friends here, friends who welcome us even into their family, as for today's four-generation feast. We've come home feeling very happy and looking forward to the arrival of our own family on Thursday and Friday.