I hope that you and yours are well.
Now that we are allowed out (June 2021) and don’t have to wear a mask absolutely everywhere, bars and restaurants are open, curfew is cancelled, and France is open to more and more countries (with free PCR (Covid) tests to visitors, and currently no quarantine if you’re fully vaccinated), life is slowly moving to a new normal. There’s even talk of rail and airport workers strikes – routine for summer here. If you are able to visit, you’ll find that pretty much everything is open and you’ll be welcomed warmly, people are so missing friends, family and visitors.
Meanwhile I’ve had to accept that all the baking I’ve done for the last 16 months (plus all the wine I’ve drunk) have taken their toll. It’s time to cut back – or I risk not being able to get my coat done up when winter comes. I’ve even cancelled Bread Man but I couldn’t bear to tell him the truth and see his look of disappointment. I told him I am going on holiday for 10 weeks. He gave me a baguette as a parting gesture. It’s a tough thing to go on a diet in France. I’m busy writing my next book and I spend a lot of time describing food: golden flaky buttery croissants, Madame Bernadette’s deliciously tempting treats, a spit cake (that’s not an ingredient by the way, it a cake cooked over a spit for 5 hours – see it here on Instagram) and Bread Man’s enticing pastries – oh the agony of saying non!
If I had a pound for every time someone asked me how is it that all French women are slim, I’d have enough money to buy a Michelin-starred meal! I always say the same thing, they aren’t all thin. French women are normal. Except in Paris where they are actually nearly all stick thin. I once sat in a restaurant near the Paris Opera, and on the table next to me a couple dined, he tucked into a tasty steak frites, she ordered a bowl of lettuce which she squirted with tomato ketchup.
I shall instead get my kicks by sharing fabulous recipes with you and writing about the most fun things to do in France instead…
Wishing you a very bon weekend.
Bisous from my little pigsty where it is sunny in between bouts of sogginess…
Janine
Editor
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Janine Marsh is Author of My Good Life in France: In Pursuit of the Rural Dream – ebook, print & audio, on Amazon everywhere & all good bookshops online, and My Four Seasons in France: A Year of the Good Life
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Tour of the week: Provence in Autumn, a slow travel small group tour that takes in the most exquisite villages. Indulge in wonderful wines and food and learn to capture it all on camera with a top photographer…
Recipe of the week: Earl Grey Madeleines, little buttery cakes that are so, so moreish!
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