Gastronomy

Now, you might well believe that we have seen and tasted some very different and wonderful foods since leaving Wycombe, and you would be right…..I think it’s time we mentioned just a few!

In Kent near to where we were staying there was a fantastic little farm shop and bistro. The food was simple but outstanding, light and delicious, in fact I’ve recreated some of the dishes we had there while we’ve been on our tour.

Whilst we were in Spain we were very disappointed with the vegetables. Now here is a country which has a wonderful climate throughout the year so has the capacity to grow different vegetables throughout the year too, but concentrates on oranges and olives! But we have to say they were without doubt the best oranges and olives we’ve ever tasted. In fact I was shown how to pick good oranges on a Spanish market and the knowledge given to me there has not let me down since.

Portugal has to be renowned for their portion sizes. Peter and I were given some sound advice by a waiter in Portamao…..that Portuguese restaurants are very happy to sell you ½ and ¼ portions. We never ordered more than a ½ portion of anything, and were always amazed at how much we were given to eat. Vegetables were more abundant than in Spain, and the food though delicious and beautifully cooked was quite plain.

Travelling through Spain and Portugal Peter and I both managed to lose a satisfactory amount of weight. We put it down to more exercise and the warmer climate, but we are again in France where they certainly know how to cook, not only in the restaurants but also the shops have so much choice. I was reminded just recently that in France they have approx 27 different micro-climates and very good produce is grown within each of them. There’s no need to import food, they have all they need!

Say no more, I have noticed the weight we’d lost travelling so far, has slowly started to creep back on!

We are still very active, (more so than in Wycombe), but unless we step up the exercise and cut down on the portion size we will come back home larger than when we left!

Of course the very good wines have nothing to do with it as we do limit our intake of those too…….. ;-)

Whether you eat in a supermarket café or a good restaurant the presentation and quality of the food is remarkable. We have our favourites in the markets too, which usually present us with some gastronomical delights we’d never think of trying.

Vive La France!!