We were back with a car and this time our road trip was to Normandy. Although infamous for D-Day this region was more than just a battle memorable. It was the birthplace of numerous cheeses and home to endless quant villages and coastal towns. After a night in Caen we picked up fruits and a raw Camembert from the market and drove to Cabourg. The buildings made this town one of my favorites as they reminded me more of luxury gingerbread houses than actual homes. We enjoyed our market food in a sunny grass patch and stopped for sweets before heading to Honfleur. Our choice this time was a giant butter caramel that oozed butter from every pore and a dense white chocolate square filled with hazelnut chocolate and a toffee crunch. High on sugar we stopped in Ils de Mer and walk barefoot on the oceans low tide. We searched for the prettiest shell, wrote with sticks in the sand, and enjoyed the childhood essence that often exposes itself at the beach. In the evening we arrived in Honfleur and watched the setting sun on the villages’ port. I ate a pot of muscles fresh from the waters and after a long day I retired early to our hotel. This was the first time all trip that Kate and I separated and it felt unusual to walk the 20 minutes back by myself. In the morning we went to the farmers market and purchased Tomme cheese and the best apple juice I ever had. Usually I’m not even an apple juice fan, but now I find myself craving the clean crisp taste of the juice I had that day. Afterwards we grabbed a choquette, a munchkin size egg pastry with large sugar crystals on top. If I may note, my simple description does not give justice to its exceptional flavor. This airy little pocket of joy could easily be overlooked; it was its simplicity that really made it stand out as one of my favorite pastries of France.
As we made our way from village to village we stopped for lunch in Pont l’eveque and had our first galettes (buckwheat crepes). We shared two: one with Andouille sausage, an over-easy egg, and mixed vegetables. Another with ham and three local cheeses – pont l’eveque, camembert, and lavarot. As if the three cheeses weren’t enough it also had a cream sauce blanketing the top. The three cheeses melded in a way that allowed the rich intensity you may expect to be masked by an almost symbiotic relationship. It’s amazing how good the French are at using rich ingredients. You never just taste the cheese or the butter, you taste the dish.
The days continued with more stops in a number of little towns. Camembert was one of the most enjoyable and it wasn’t just because we were able to sample three different Camembert’s (a raw milk, a pasteurized, and a thermalized). They also had a great museum about the history and production of Camembert cheese that I found extremely interesting. Another favorite was the coastal town of Cancale. Of course their was a market but instead of vibrant fruits, breads, and cheeses they sold only oysters. Usually an expensive product in the United States we were able to buy a dozen for 6 euros and enjoy them on a raised wall with a number of other eaters. This was the street food of Concale. It was amazing to see little kids giving them a try and even more was that as everyone finished they would toss the shells over the walls ledge. Hundreds upon hundreds of shells sat there speckled with lemon wedges and crumbled napkins. It was such a casual setting that if I didn’t know any better I could have been in New York City against a high rise munching down a Nathans hotdog. Rather I was in France acting the same way about oysters. You would never find a scene like that in the States and it was so special to take part in it.
After the long filling days it was nice to return to our B&B in the countryside. The yard (equipped with a number of outdoor activities) overlooked fields of hay bales, cows, and a vast horizon. After a brief game of one-on-one soccer we walked along the road and watched the sun go down. We picked wild blackberries, snapped numerous pictures, and did whatever we could to take in as much of the beauty as possible. The next evening we met the other family staying at the B&B and played bocce ball with the kids before seeing Mt. Saint Michel lit up at night. To soon to be true the 6:00am alarm rang and we were piling our bags in to the car. We would be making a day journey to Germany in order to spend the next two weeks working on a vineyard. The cheeses of France would momentarily be put on hold as we embraced our next food culture. Timing could not have been better; I was having a little bit of cheese overload anyways!
