the three fs ( france part one)

 france, friends and food. as we drove into dordogne i suddenly felt as if i was driving into one of my beloved novels.  we arrived in the town of Beynac, where stephanie and her husband renovated the loveliest home, so tastefully curated at the foot of a castle,  you could not help but to feel lucky to be within its walls( do you know you can rent the maisonette!) every morning i would get up early and in my pyjamas would step onto the terrace( photo right above) and look outside to the incredible views. i would walk around the castle, the cobblestone streets and gaze over gated entryways. the fog visited this tiny village and reminded me of home, the church bells would ring, the birds would sing and i would whisper to myself this is magical and it was. it is not often that the imagination and reality meet but there in beynac and the maisonette it did just perfectly.

nights would be spent with long dinners at the loveliest places where thoughtful menus were prepared, incredible fish soup served in a beautiful white terrine, plat principal of delicate fish, in season vegetables, desserts such as   glazed figs and verbena ice cream, how we dined, each place now has memories of good conversation, laughs attached to them. we would make our way back to the maisonette, sometimes stopping by neighbours who shared incredible stories and filled our hearts with unexpected emotions. as we walked down the hill pass the castle we would gaze at the stars. our nights would end with us sitting at the farm table exchanging thoughts and ideas for the following day, then i would retire to my bedroom till i would hear the morning bells ring once again...

* more to come