french cuisine – Lessons I learned after I turned 30

Laughs and waffles

Socialising over food is probably my favourite thing to do. If I could I’d do it all day, every day. No wonder is scientifically proven to have health benefits, physical and psychological.

It’s even better when I get to try a new place in town with one of my favourite friends, Lucy. Let me tell you a little bit about Lucy.

Lucy is sweet, caring, funny, we can talk about anything and she is always happy to try new places. We always run out of time every time we meet, because we lose track of it every single time.

Our schedules are already getting busier and we are not even in December yet but we finally made it, we always do. We always make time for the people we care about, it’s a universal human attribute I guess.

There’s a new-ish waffle restaurant in town, Pere Waffle that’s been on my list of new food places to try (still haven’t tried the new Lebanese one, Beity, where Kibbeh, the equivalent to Cypriot κουπες, ‘minced beef croquettes’, one of the my guilty pleasures I enjoy every time I go home features on the menu) and of course sweet Lucy loved the idea of giving it a go.

I love a waffle, but I never tend to finish it, last one I had was a couple of years ago at Sprinkles and it was too sweet, too big, too of everything.

I decided to go for a savoury, ‘papounet’ (stuffed) one, since I’ve never tried a savoury one before. No idea why. I’ve had savoury crepes and pancakes plenty of times before but never waffles. Bizarre.

I had the salmon, tzatziki and cream cheese one, the Atlantico, and it was delicious, much better than I expected. The waffle was light and soft, and the ingredients tasted fresh, the best sign of great food. Brownie points for the salad dressing. Most restaurants in the UK serve the salad plain, tasting of nothing, but a bit of vinaigrette makes a world of difference. And extra brownie points for the portion size. Not too small, not ridiculously large. Just perfect.

Lucy fancied something sweet so she went for Parisian, cheesecake in a waffle, heaven!

We enjoyed every bite whilst chatting about anything and everything, work, friendship, love life, fashion, our clumsiness, and we laughed, a lot.

I loved everything about Pere Waffle, cute, cosy space, friendly service and reasonable prices for such great food. I can’t wait to go again and try different fillings. And I can’t wait to see Lucy again!

Eleni

Bordeaux day two- A divine intervention across the Bridge

Day two.

I didn’t sleep much. My tummy hurt, I didn’t eat enough the day before and my subconscious went wild leaving me with messed up dreams again. And I left the heater on and I got really hot as well.

I woke up for the final time around 7am but stayed in bed until 9am, listening to the rain and the wind. I couldn’t believe it was raining. It’s the end of March, I’m still wearing a coat and the rain and the wind doesn’t seem to stop. I miss the sun, I miss the warmth, I miss the sea. But I was in a gorgeous city and I couldn’t let the rain ruin my day.

Around 9am it was time for breakfast. Malvina had everything ready for me. Fresh juice, hot, delicious coffee, fresh bread, a cannoli, an apricot yogurt, organic apricot and strawberry jams and some of the best honey I’ve ever tasted, although it looked more like an almond paste rather than honey.

I stayed for an hour, talking with Malvina. She told me all about her travels in Vietnam, Costa Rica, Greece. She nostalgically narrated me holiday stories from her childhood, visiting Surrey in the summer when she was a teen to her most recent annual trips to the nearest beach in Bordeaux, Archachon, where famous people own luxurious holiday homes but after they are off in September it’s quiet, perfect for the locals to visit, including Malvina who often takes her bike there to cycle along the beach line.

What a truly wonderful lady she is and what an incredible life she let. I love listening to her stories and I could have stayed there talking for hours but it was time to brave the rain and get out and explore more.

The plan for today was to visit the Darwin Eco-systeme Malvina recommended, renovated deserted warehouses in the old Niel Military Barracks, a sustainable, eco-friendly, work-space development. It took me about half an hour to get there and I already got wet after 10 minutes. But I was determined to make it. And I’m glad I did.

I had lunch (Oeufs mimosa and a cup of cappuccino) in this open plan cafe/ restaurant/shop, very industrial looking but at the same time cosy, with homely decorations and an impressive piece of artwork just outside in the courtyard.

I couldn’t see much of the development in the rain, so I decided to go down the Chaban-Delmas Bridge, a modern bridge which lifts up for ships to pass by. By this point it was chucking it down and I felt like the wind could blow me away into the river any minute now. And I was worried the Bridge might start moving with no warning, so I tried to cross as fast as I could, scariest 15 minutes of my life.

I had my music on all day today, since the rain wouldn’t allow me to pay much attention to my surroundings and I needed a distraction. I found myself singing along when the wind would blow my umbrella away once again.

After about 40 minutes of walking, I ended up in Rue Notre Dame, a street Malvina told me about, with many antique shops. A couple were open but I didn’t go in, I didn’t want to risk getting any precious items wet, ruined.

I was wet and cold, my hair ruined and by this point my legs hurt from all the walking. I suddenly felt very emotional. Not because I was sad, or upset. I’m still not sure what caused it. But it felt very cathartic letting all the tears out. Out of a sudden a large church appeared out of nowhere, just by Rue Notre Dame. A divine intervention.

I decided to walk in, rest my legs and admire the building, since I love old buildings, especially churches.

What I forgot was that it’s Holy Week for the Catholics this week (for Greek Orthodox this year it’s a week later). And there was a service on. There was a crowd at the front, so I decided to sit at the back on my own.

The church was just beautiful. Stained glass, large windows, the smell of incense, a very familiar smell. I started crying again, almost instantly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a large statue of Jesus on the cross. It reminded me of Easter back home. I cried even more.

I’ve never been to a Catholic Service before. The beautiful singing of this older lady, the gorgeous church, the memories, all together, it filled me with joy, gratefulness and nostalgia. I sat there for about 20 minutes, crying, smiling, taking it all in. I thought for a moment to take a snap, but I didn’t. This memory was for my eyes only, it was a very personal one.

I left feeling lighter, as a weight was lifted off my shoulders, I left it there, on that chair I sat crying.

I decided at this point to get something to eat from a shop and go home. It was already 4ish, I’ve been walking for 5 hours, I was wet and tired and in pain.

And all of a sudden, my phone battery went. But I didn’t panic. I somehow, miraculously remembered how to get back to my temporary Bordeaux home and luckily I found a shop on my way back to get some food.

I’m weirdly happy how today pan out. The weather is not always ideal, plans can change but travelling it’s still fun, an unpredictable adventure.

I’d never thought I’d walk into a church in Bordeaux, on Easter Week and have such a spiritual moment. The magic world of travelling.

Who knows what will happen tomorrow (although I might be getting a cold…)!

Namaste

Eleni

Bordeaux day one- The Great Unknown

Monday morning. I didn’t sleep much last night.

I was too excited, and a little bit nervous, but proud of myself for remembering to pack little but important things like a plug adapter and a couple of Euros for the bus which was to take me to my AirBnb when I was in Bordeaux.

I arrived at the airport on time (one of the very few places I usually make it on time, when I’m about to fly away), I even had all my liquids put in a bag beforehand.

It was a short flight and the pilot brought us to Bordeaux earlier than expected. On the plane I read the book Shebs gave me on Ikigai, the’reason for being’, what gets you up in the morning, the Japanese way of life and its five pillars, starting small, releasing yourself, letting your ego go (probably the toughest but the most liberating), harmony and sustainability, the joy of little things, my favourite and my personal eternal struggle, being in the here and now. Every time my mind wandered to anything else than my French adventure, I remembered the fifth pillar. Right now you are on the plane, on your first solo trip. Forget everything else. Who cares what you’ll be doing in a week?

When I arrived, I smiled. I was finally away. And it was sunny!

On the bus my mind wandered, but this time was happy thoughts. I remembered the last time I was away, in Italy with my sisters… and then I got car sick… At that moment I decided I’d rather walk for the next three days and only get the bus again to the airport.

After I checked into my beautiful, colourful Airbnb room, my lovely host Malvina gave me a little tour of her house and a couple of ideas on what to do the following days. Oh and I only found out a few days before that breakfast was included. I asked Malvina for breakfast at 9am tomorrow.

After a quick freshening up, out I went to start exploring. I was a little scared to begin with, but after 10 minutes of wandering, looking around, taking it all in, I remembered why I love travelling so much.

I started to feel hungry so I found this little cafe on TripAdvisor, Books and Coffee, just under the Great Bell Malvina told me about. I loved it. Cosy and quirky, buzzing with people.

After my short break, I walked by the river, God I love the water, it will always remind me of home. It was breezy, but still sunny.

I then bumped into the Place de la Bourse, the iconic Bordeaux square, which at summertime you can see reflecting on Miroir d’eau, the world’s largest reflecting pool.

I wandered into the Musée national des douanes, a national museum of the history of French Customs and then off to St Michel church and Porte d’Aquitaine.

On my way to… nowhere specific, I walked into a handmade chocolate shop and had a laugh with the shopping assistants (and bought a delicious chocolate on a stick) and then came across what I’d describe as a ‘room’ dedicated to Peru, still not sure what it was…

Three hours later, I was exhausted and starving. Deciding where to have dinner was tough. I didn’t realise that most restaurants are closed on Monday in Bordeaux. Again TripAdvisor did not disappoint. I found this cute, elegant bar/restaurant, Loulou and I had a well deserved glass of wine, A Chateau Peyreau the waitress recommended with my dinner, who I asked her to choose for me as the menu was in French and I was too tired to think and translate and decide. She chose the Filet de Canette (duck fillet), Pommes au safran, legumes craquants (apples in Saffron and ‘crunchy’ vegetables) and it was delicious! The glass of wine she recommended was perfect with my dinner! A girl was there on her own, translating the menu. Another fellow solo traveller.

I smiled. A couple of years ago just the idea of eating at a restaurant on my own wouldn’t even appeal to me, but here I am, in another country on my own, absolutely loving sitting on my own, enjoying dinner and a glass of wine, people watching.

I came home exhausted but happy.

Eleni