Chewing the fat

France is divided into Regions – ours is Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and within each region there are various departments – ours is Alpes-Maritimes which is inventive naming indeed, given that this area is between the alps and the sea. I wonder which government official got paid obscene amounts to come up with that zinger of a moniker. One of our neighbouring departments is the Var (named after the Var river which runs through it - who would thunk it? Apparently these geographical names all have to do with reducing the power of kings and queens back in the day or whatever but I just say – lack of originality.)
Toulon is the biggest town in the Var, and St Tropez arguably its most famous and we have visited both of these (St Tropez for the sunshine, over-priced shopping and celeb-spotting, Toulon for IKEA) but had never visited the other towns there, despite them being only 30 min away. So yesterday, we attempted to rectify this and had a superb day visiting St Raphael and Fréjus. These two towns have also been added to the “places to take Didy when she visits” list which is getting ridiculously long!

Yesterday also marked the first nice day weather-wise we’ve had in ages and despite the laundry that begged to be done, we kicked that idea to the curb and headed out.

A lovely, winding drive west from La Bocca afforded us some kick-arse views of the coastline and snow-capped mountains in the background. Our camera is sadly not up to the task of accurately capturing how spectacular this view is but hopefully you get the idea.

It's hard to tell but that's snow up there, not clouds

We had a lovely lunch and a few wines in St Raphael and a great wander around the streets. The area around the port is particularly nice and presumably stunning and bustling in spring/summer. Even in the middle of Feb it looked pretty good and there were lots of people out enjoying the sunshine.

Onwards to Fréjus, where there are still some remnants of its ancient history. Fréjus, like lots of places in Provence, was a part of the Roman Empire and there are still ruins of an aqueduct, with massive pillars, a theatre and a large amphitheatre that unfortunately was undergoing (apparently much needed) renovations while we were there so not much to see. There’s also a famous cathedral with one of the oldest and best preserved 5th century baptistery in France. Altogether it was a lovely little town – especially the “old town” parts of it and we had a faboosh time. A great little day trip.

St Raphael

Frejus - 3rd century meets 21st century.

Saint Leonce Cathedral, Frejus

The baptisery - used for baptism by immersion. right.....

Mum commented to be today that I spend a lot of time writing about/taking photos of food. To which I responded – “um, yes, that it correct”. And sadly only a fraction of the thinking about/eating/planning actually makes its way onto the blogaroonie. So I was hesitant about mentioning this but the fact that I am virtually salivating as I type this means that it is unavoidable. We are cooking roast beef for dinner tonight. Because I found a wonderful little thing at the supermarket on Friday called “2 for the price of one beef” which caused me to do a little budget-conscious/total-food-slut happy dance. The “uh huh, that’s nice” response from M when I displayed my purchases was rather less enthusiastic which hurt my excitable heart, “I bought you MEAT, and it came with FREE meat, why are you not excited by this?!?!” His response was mid-range for someone who usually bars up over a meat platter. However, that’s not the exciting part. The most exciting part about this meal is the roast vegetables, which are currently being turned into crispy, golden skinned wonders by the magical powers of Duck fat. Graisse de Canard – where have you been all my life?? Seriously, how have I missed out on this for so long? Why didn’t anyone TELL me that roast potatoes in duck fat is borderline orgasmic?!?!

Oh France, I whinge about so many of your attributes: the endless bureaucracy, the smoking, the driving, the crotte de chien littering the footpaths, the ‘tudes - but you know one thing you’ve seriously got going on? Graisse de Canard, available in your local supermarkets. Next to the livers and other meaty unmentionables. And for that reason alone, France, I am learning to love you.

Oh and mum? Still going to be talking about food. That’s how I roll.

Sadly, emphasis these days is on “rolls”, but that’s a story for another day. I’m off to make some gravy!