So all is well here. This post is about firsts in France.

To start off, this year is the first time I have picked apples. Ever. I was so excited! And, what's more...I had to go to France to do it (not like I could have in college in Connecticut or on Long Island...that would have been too simple and easy to do). I went with a French friend and we had a wonderful time, plus it was beautiful weather!

Here are a few pictures from that momentous day:

Translation: APPLES

Name of the farm is La Ferme de Viltain

All the apples available for that day. We had Boskoop.

To collect your apples you take a wheelbarrow and go to the aisle you like.


This is the price tag in front of the aisle. It's cheaper to get a crate than by kilo.

I had told my honey that I would just get a kilo of apples...but then I saw this:

And this:

I just couldn't help myself. So with the help of my French friend, Mme G...

She got two crates of apples.

Boskoop

Crimson Crisp

And I got one! It's a lot of apples, but they are a mix between Granny Smith and Gala. They will conserve well in the cave or cellar of the appartement.

Voila the crate of Boskoop apples, plus a spaghetti squash (unknown in France, but divine in my opinion), a potimarron squash (orange and tastes like a pumpkin), and a patisson, or priest's bonnet squash (I DO NOT recommend that one...not a tasty squash, just saying)

I thought this was cute. The farm had a new variety of apples. They're delicious, almost like a strawberry apple and a pink lady mixed together...but their name is...Crimson Crisp. Try getting a French person to say that name 5 times fast. I dare you!

On to another first! We've decided that every time we try a new cheese in France, we will take a picture and post it. We're a couple of weeks behind so here are two pics.

They were very good! Out of the four of them...I think we like the Rouy, then the Caprice des Dieux, then the Pave d'Affinois, then the Fromage Fouette de Madame Loik. Rouy is a delicious creamy orange soft cheese. Caprice is a very palatable tangy brie, pave is a smelly but very mild and creamy soft cheese and the last from Loik, it's like an herbed cheese spread. I happened to buy it because of a commercial I saw. Yup. Fell for it. But they had Irish music and happy people on the commercial! And the cheese is very good on toasted bread. Gotta be careful about commercials here. They work!

Another first was actually finding a purple vegetable other than eggplant. How about a Violet, or in other words, a purple cauliflower? I love it! It is soo cool.