Train to Dole, France--post 2 of 9

M's crab and grapefruit appetizer

We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at the hotel before we walked 2.7 miles to the train station in Paris. We boarded a train for Dole at 10AM and arrived one and half hours later. J, N's boyfriend, met us at the station and drove us to his family's home in Tavaux which took about 20 minutes.

M's Monkfish in brown butter and wine

Apricot tart for dessert

I have been looking forward to meeting J's mom, M since the first time that we FaceTimed more than two years ago! M prepared a feast for us for lunch. We had a crab appetizer which was not only beautiful; but, light and delicious. The grapefruit was the perfect accompaniment to the crab. Of course there was bread and I saw first hand how "locals" put the bread on the table--it doesn't go on the plate! (You can seen some bread on the table in the above photos!)

The next course was monkfish and vegetables which was cooked in wine and brown butter. M served it with rice. It was divine and of all the dishes I ate on the trip, it was my favorite entree! We had a course of cheese and then M served us an apricot tart which was delicious!

M, N, J, B and me on the bridge over the canal in front of Notre Dame

After lunch, J took us for a walk around Dole. We went to the canal and passed by M's favorite pastry shop.

I learned that Louis Pasteur was born there and there is a museum of his works in the house where he was born!

There is also a visual history display of the industry there--tanning and leather works which was interesting to see and read about.

This barge served dinner for some guests later in the evening

We watched the captain dock this barge which he did as easily as some people parallel park! How fun it would have been to have had dinner on this barge!

Insect sculpture

The garden at the end of the bridge held wire framed insect sculptures amidst the flowers and grass.













As we walked through the area, I spied a shop that had sewing machines for sale. It was closed and there were bars on the windows so no photo. I also saw a yarn/floss shop that had these smocked items in the window.

It was a beautiful little town. We had dinner at a local restaurant at 8PM! Dinner is often served between 7 and 8 in the evening. After M's lunch, I was just the right amount of hungry for our late dinner.

View of the canal

We ate outside and after a hot day, it was a refreshing evening. I had a starter that was a wonderful green salad with goat cheese. My entree was sirloin steak and scalloped potatoes in Comté cheese. The potatoes were so creamy! The dessert souffle was a lot like ice cream heavily flavored with Grand Marnier.

We arrived home at 11PM and I promptly went to bed and slept like a rock! I walked five miles and my blister didn't get any worse thanks to bandaids and arnica! Aleve is helping the knees!