An American in Provence

The week before I bought the 39€ pink basket from Jeff de Bruges with chocolate to bring to the dinner. It was rather deceptive because there was just one layer of chocolate on top, the rest was just paper grass.

I arrived around 10:30 because I remembered from previous years that there were huge traffic jams around 11 am- everyone going out to see their family in the country I guess.

Jacques and Josée were finishing getting ready- Josée was making small "meals in a glass" which is, I guess, the culinary rage at the moment. They were quite good- one was eggplant with couscous and tomatos on top, the other was guacamole with tomatos and salmon on top.

Lydia, Jerome, and Meme arrived around 1 and we started eating. I should have written this post sooner so that I could have remembered exactly how the meal went, but it was less than previous years. Let me see- I guess we started with egg, tomato, and bread with foie gras, followed by the two small glass meals, then lamb, followed by a rhum cake that Lydia brought, and finally chocolate. I am sure I am forgetting something. I should call Josée to ask exactly what she served. I left around 6 so that I wouldn't get back to Marseille too late- can never find a parking spot if you get back too late. The next day was Easter Monday, so I putzed around all morning, then went to pick Alain up at the airport around noon. We went to his parent's for lunch, which was mainly leftovers from Easter. It was a nice, relaxing weekend. I am lucky to have in-laws that I can spend time with without needing Alain as a buffer and who, I think, have accepted me. This whole adventure of living in another country would be a whole lot harder if we didn't like each other.

cherry tree in bloom: