Unexcused Absences France 2014 - Week 9 Recap (he said)

France 2014 – Week 9 Recap (he said)

by Kent 9 Sep 2014

Sunday morning we slept late in Vireux-Wallerand, bought baguettes from the delicious boulangerie (about 50 meters past “Le Tippy Bar”), and then continued upstream (south) a few hours to Fumay. The town is situated inside a very pretty loop in the Meuse River, and the next morning I found a hiking trail up to a hill overlooking the town. Around lunchtime we made sandwiches and continued south to Revin, where we had left Après Ski a week ago when we joined Todd and Ted on a two-day car trip to Brussels.

USA schwag at Bazaar-Land

This time we were in town to pick up our friends Barbie and Vicki, from Richmond. Before they arrived we topped off our provisions at the Intermarché and also visited “Bazaar-Land,” a store that simultaneously had everything, and nothing, for sale. Everything, because it had, well, everything, and nothing, because what was for sale was pretty much completely useless. For instance, they had an entire section of Americana, including giant coffee mugs (no one in France drinks coffee from a mug bigger than a shot glass), rugs, plates, etc. The US flag was big business in clothing stores and markets last year, but is now old news, as evidenced by all the USA schwag at the everything/nothing store.

Cafe of Youth in Revin, with pint-sized statue of liberty

Tuesday morning was the weekly market in Revin, and we bought a bunch of stuff including a ten-euro hair clipper set (more on this later), dinner knives, and a ten-euro sweater (which proved to be unnecessary since Barbie and Vicki brought warm, sunny weather with them). We also bought the obligatory baguette and pastries for our new arrivals. Tuesday afternoon we cruised to Monthermé, and after we arrived Vicki and I took a bike ride down the canal, Barbie walked around town, and Heather went running. That evening we ate an incredible meal at the Logis Hotel Franco-Belge. The salmon, cod, and duck breast were all amazing.

Wednesday morning dawned foggy, but the forecast called for clear skies so I suspected it was just ground fog. I slipped out early and hiked to the ridge to get a view from above the mist, and sure enough, bright sunshine greeted me about 500 feet above the river. Later, after breakfast, we all hiked the same hill which led to a beautiful vantage-point above the boucle (big loop in the river).

K & H with Barbie above Monthermé

That afternoon we cruised to Charleville-Mézièrs. During happy hour we watched a Jack Russel terrier chase ducks, to the consternation of his owners. They were clearly trying to leave the park, but the dog was convinced he could catch the flock of ducks swimming just out of reach off the docks, if he a) barked loud enough and b) swam fast enough. Close to 20 minutes of comedy ensued as the owners would get the dog headed towards the car, then the ducks would quack and the dog would turn around and head back to the water, jump in, and chase after the ducks. The owners tried throwing a tennis ball (clearly the dog’s favorite toy) in the opposite direction of the ducks. The dog would look at the ducks, look at the ball, then swim back to shore, run and grab the ball, bring it back to the owners, then take off running back to the water to continue his duck chase. The whole thing had us, the other boaters, and the fishermen in stitches.

Charleville-Méziers

That evening we ate dinner at the same delicious crêperie restaurant we experienced with Todd and Ted about two weeks ago. Barbie especially has an affinity for all things Brittany, so the crêpe dinner was right up her alley. Thursday morning I finally convinced favorite wife to give me a haircut (with our new clipper set purchased in Revin). I wasn’t concerned, because if the haircut came out bad I would just avoid looking in the mirror for a couple weeks, but she was the one who would have to look at me. But no need to worry, the haircut was a success (at least the girls all claimed it looked good), and the three of them went shopping after lunch. Late afternoon we cruised to Lumes, a rural mooring a couple hours south-east (upstream) from Charleville. Dinner was the boudin blanc we bought at the market in Revin.

Church in Sedan

Friday we left early and arrived in Sedan in time for a late lunch at the Marmaris kebab restaurant, which unfortunately did not do justice to the spicy delicacy. The sauce blanche was not yogurt-based but rather was mayonnaise-based, and didn’t compliment the meat spices at all. Quite a disappointment for our guests’ first kebab. That afternoon Barbie and Vicki toured the big chateau/citadel, and I changed the oil and filter and greased the prop shaft seal onboard Après Ski. Afterwords I stumbled upon a LeClerc auto supply store that had the exact make and model of oil filter for our engine, but at about half the price of the marine version.

Street market in Sedan (photo by Ted from the previous week)

Saturday morning we cooked scrambled eggs with basil, then set out for the big street market. This market also included a brocante (flea market) section, and I resisted the temptation to purchase some very old woodworking tools. We restocked the fridge (two types of cheese, six eggs, and a duck breast that favorite wife will marinate and grill), then saw our guests off to the train station. Their plan is to head back to Charleville, rent a car, and drive around central France for three days before heading back to the Paris airport and home. Barbie is still in touch with her French exchange “brother” from back in the day, so they are all planning to get together for dinner Tuesday evening before they fly home. Should be a lot of fun.

K & H plus Vicki and Barbie at the Sedan train station

Saturday afternoon Heather did several loads of laundry and I made three trips to various grocery stores (Intermarché, Carrefour, and LeClerc) to restock our supplies. We finished our chores just in time to catch the Festival Mouvements de Rue (sort of a street performers festival, but with a twist). The activities included two performances at fixed locations, and two where part of the show included the audience following the performers through the streets. The first presentation was a dance show on the side of the big Sedan chateau/citadel, and you read that correctly; the two dancers were suspended from the top of the parapet by climbing ropes and harnesses, and the dance moves were done with the performers swinging and floating about 20 feet up in the air.

“Dancing” on the walls of the fortress

After the duo de danse vertical, the show moved to the street, where two guys on stilts manipulated giant African mannequins (in traditional dress) to dance to African music. The performers led the audience through the town to the next stage, which was set up like a rural bar. Four actors then did a whole song/dance/juggling/comedy routine illustrating the trials, tribulations, and pratfalls associated with opening a bar. It was really quite funny, and very well done.

The bar/café comedy group

The final performance followed a gypsy family as they moved around town. We weren’t very clear on what was happening, but there were a bunch of people dressed as gypsies and playing musical instruments, and wheeling luggage, animals, baby strollers, etc. through the town. We find these street festivals quite endearing, and there certainly aren’t any organized performances like this, at least that we’re aware of, in the USA.

Saturday night we ate the big slab of terrine de campagne (country paté – sort of a cold-pressed loaf of meat parts) we had purchased at the market and reflected on our luck to have good friends (Todd, Ted, Barbie, and Vicki) visit us on Après Ski over the past couple weeks. They were all very easy guests to host, and they all treated us to numerous really lovely dinners out. And speaking of dinners…

Monthermé Tuesday afternoon

The fun menu translation this week comes from the auberge in Monthermé, in which Google translated the dish “Cacasse à cul nu habillée d’une saucisse” as “cacasse to ass-naked wearing a saussage,” which is completely correct but also incredibly funny. According to other sources, it translates more accurately as “bare-assed potato stew,” but I think it’s more fun to call it “ass-naked.” And we came to find out later that “cacasse” is a naughty French concept whose translation is not suitable for a family website, but let’s just say it has something to do with “ass-naked”.

France 2014 Week 9 Numbers