An Adventure in France

As is traditional at half term in October, we decamped to the south of France with the extended family in the hope of finding a bit of sun before winter really hit in London. This time we went to Antibes and packed the children off to French school in the mornings. They weren’t exactly overjoyed, but they all improved. We are good parents.

I love being in France - I could spend hours in a large supermarket, as could my brother-in-law. In fact, we often do. I was overjoyed to find the pastry shelves in one of the giant supermarkets - I’m an avid home baker, but even I think it’s ok to buy your pastry when you’re on holiday, especially when there is such a fine selection ready made and of excellent quality. Oh, and the yoghurt aisle is a truly splendid thing in France.

And the fruit and vegetables - tomatoes taste totally different there. So do the melons. The artichokes. Everything really - it all benefits from the sun. These pictures were taken outside a tiny shop in St Tropez, not even a market.

While we were away, I managed to find time to cook up a storm for my entry in the Vincent Price Coookalong Challenge, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Vincent and Mary Price’s Treasury of Great Recipes - more of that here.

We also managed to pop to Italy for a day. You don't need to drive for very long to realise you’re in a different country, it’s all a bit frenetic. You can see why there are so many small cars there, much easier for getting around the narrow streets than in a capacious hire car. We spent several very happy hours strolling round the Friday market in Ventimiglia, checking out the pashminas, leather bags and beautiful cashmere, as well as drooling over the wonderful cheeses, many hams and, of course, pasta in all shapes and sizes. We stopped for lunch in what looked like a slightly unpromising touristy place, but the children were ravenous and it was time to let them sit down. We ended up with great views of the sea and fabulous food Pizzas and pasta - no pics, we were so hungry after all the shopping that we just needed to eat. A good reminder not to take too much notice of first impressions.

If you go to Ventimiglia - pay for your parking if it’s a Friday… I currently have a friend translating the finer points of the parking ticket for me.