The Bio Show

The French are famous for their exhibitions and yesterday was another example of their flare.

On the way to the beach, with our dog and her friend who is visiting, we saw that there was a Bio Show in the local sports centre.

We stopped and went in. Here we found children having pony rides and two take away restaurants selling both the best Indian food we have seen in the area and also Crepes and some Chinese delicacies.

Inside the hall were a myriad of stalls selling Bio Products from Bread to Honey

I did try the Bio Ice Cream. Perhaps this is a step too far for Bio as they were really tasteless!!

My wife, Gaynor, bought some vegetables and loads of herbs to plant in the garden. I did wonder if were being non Bio by planting them with our other herbs that are not Bio. Will probably get reported to the Bio police for this!

Mr.L. 11/03/2012

Coquillages and Crustaces

On Sunday we visited a restaurant that we had passed many times and had wondered about.

The Coquillages & Crustaces is on the right as you exit the Parking Du Port, in St Tropez, towards St Maxime.

It is tucked away behind their area where they have large water tanks where one can by living lobsters and crabs.

We were stunned to find a beautiful planked terrace overlooking the bay with a view of the port and of St Maxime.

They offer a large variety of fish and seafood but no meat. We were tempted by the big Spider Crabs but in the end went for fish.

We both started with Moules Farcis and then shared a plaice. This fish was presented to us before cooking and we were surprised at its size at 1.2 KG!!

It was served boned onto our plates and was accompanied by a rice rissoto and mixed vegetables. To put over the fish we were supplied with almonds in a sauce.

The meal was terrific and the service both very pleasant and efficient. The view was indeed amazing!

Would recommend to anyone who isn't on a budget.

Mr.L. 1/03/2012

GRIMAUD

We are fortunate to live on the outskirts of one of the most beautiful villages in France.

It is full of village houses with 3 or 4 floors and terraces on the top. These are situated on small meandering streets adorned with beautiful flowering plants.

In the centre there is a Pertanque area where the locals play and chat. This is surrounded by a Tabac and bakery. Also in the village are many great restaurants, estate agents that are too numerous to count, a butchers a hairdressers, assorted pottery and clothing shops and of course many art galleries.

In the summer this is a hive of activity but in the winter it is all pretty much deserted as a majority of the homes are for holidays and it leaves it with a really deserted look.

Above the village is a beautiful chateau, around which they have concerts on a Tuesday night and also they have musicians touring the streets or performing in the central car park.

Of course this is just in summer. The rest of the time the village life goes on as it always has, awaiting the summer onslaught!!

Mr.L. 17/02/2012

Auron & Isola 2000

As if it was not so unseasonally cold down here on the coast we decided that we would spend a few days up in the mountains to enjoy the ski resorts and watch the skiers.

We selected Auron , just behind Nice and an hour up the mountain road, as it is a nice small resort with an ice rink in the middle of it When we got there there was good snow and the roads were clear, however it was pretty quiet and not buzzy

The drive up from Nice is epic with beautiful scenery and winding mountain roads.

During our stay we drove over to Isola 2000, which is a bigger resort but one we have kept away from because of the big grey, factory like, building in its centre. Imagine our surprise to find that they had clad it in wood and painted the rest in a nice colour! What a difference,

Isola has a great nursery slope, as well as many more difficult runs. There were lots of people on the piste and we could see the large number of wooden chalets that had been put up over the last years. All in all a great improvement.

Our dog, Micha , loved the snow but kept chasing the skiers as she obviously thought it a game!

We had lunch in the middle of the main piste at a restaurant called the Cow Club, which I have visited several times before It was lovely to see skiers skiing right up to it and taking off their skis. Imagine my delight when they were offering a rack of spare ribs in a delightful sauce with saffron rice. Truly delicious

These resorts are easily reached from Uk with Easyjet flying into Nice and then just over an hour up into the mountains

Mr.L 12/02/2012

THE MILANO FREJUS

Last week we went to the Milano restaurant, on the seafront at Frejus. This was with the Gourmet luncheon club that we are members of.

Normally we are given a fixed menu with just a few choices for each course. This time we were offered the whole menu to select from.

This was really good as this restaurant is well known in the area and specialises in sea food.

I started with my favourite Moules Farcis, which was great except that at this time of year the mussels are a tad small as the Spanish ones seem to be out of season

Being a Gourmet lunch I decided to go exotic, for the main course, and had a platter consisting of half a lobster, half a crab, a bowl of unpicked shrimps, about a dozen unpeeled prawns and a load of crayfish.

This all came on a bed of ice and was complete with a nice garlic flavoured mayonaisse dip.

Need I mention that I could not eat it all, however I finally solicited some help from friends on the table.

I did, however, manage a sugared pancake to complete the meal!!!!

Back to the diet!!!

A lovely restaurant with great service and a great ambiance.

Mr.L. 06/02/2012

Ice Golf

This is a picture from our Club House at the St Maxime golf course and I realise that it is looks hot and sunny and it is. Unfortunately this was taken in the summer.

Things have been different for the last week as the temperature has been around -4c at night and reached perhaps 6c during the day!! Even so it has been bright and sunny.

It has still been possible to play golf, however a mallet would have been great to bang the tees into the frozen ground and the balls were bouncing off the greens when they arrives as they also were frozen!

How keen are we??!!

Mr.L. 06/02/2012

A BEST FRIEND

On Thursday Mark, Chris and myself arrived at the 17th tee, to find a hunter's dog laying there. When we tried to call it it just barked for attention and a few moments later the bark was joined by another one just downhill from the original dog.

When we looked we saw the other dog, that had tried to get under the fence that surrounds the course, but had got its head caught in the netting.

The original dog was obviously trying to get our attention so that we would help his friend!

Chris went back to the club for wire cutters and Mark successfully cut the wire away. The trapped dog rejoined his friend and they both trotted off.

It was SO sweet!

Mr.L. 3/02/2012