kirsten's first taste of France
May 2010 - I had never been to France and as I am head over heals in love with Italy I thought it’s about time I tried somewhere different. So we drove to France in our wee van, Al’s side of the van loaded with climbing and biking kit and mine with cheese and wine guides. One of the first things that hit me about France was the bustling food markets, from handcrafted cheeses, to delicious cured meats, some of the finest fresh fruit and vegetable imaginable along with the local wines I was in heaven! I have to admit being from the Southern hemisphere I had always turned my nose up at French wines, this was purely out of ignorance and will certainly not be so narrow minded in the future, as I tasted some of the best wines I had ever had. We stumbled randomly upon Bealieu Sur Dordogne with its Strawberry Fair (Fetes De Fraises), where the town turns out to celebrate the good old strawberry and all the local professional caterers make a giant strawberry tart - eaten enthusiastically by all. It is claimed that this is the biggest strawberry tart in the world and I quite believe it, I have never seen a sight like it. People from 90 years old to wee ones created this delicious buttery pastry round covered in plump strawberries glazed with boiling hot jam and then shared out for all to enjoy.