The last supper

My time in France seemed to be over in a flash. Blink, and you might of missed it. I was so sad to be leaving, but I always think that the best way to leave a holiday is with desire to stay, not the feeling of being ready to go home. We spent the last day soaking up the sun on the beach before heading back to the house for my last French feast. Every meal I ate while I was away was delicious, and this night was certainly no different. Em's cousin Maylis and her parents arrived, and with them they brought dinner...an extremely good dinner at that!

 A family reunited

A hearty spread was laid out, and it didn't take long before it had completely dissapeared! We started off with Pate and Cornichons, something I ate plenty of last week!

Then it was time to get fired up and stick some meat on the barby. After all what's more French than a juicy, pink steak!?

Its no secret that the French like their steak blue, and although I wouldn't say it was quite like that, it was super pink, packed with flavour and absolutely delicious!

There was plenty to munch on alongside this.
Grilled Aubergines

Roasted bell peppers

Tomato salad

Ofcourse in classic French style, the meal was followed by cheese. It was so moreish! Perfectly ripe, gooey and strong in flavour; exactly how I like it.

All of Ems friends then arrived for 'un soiree mojito', a mojito party in other words. Ems brother makes the most amazing mojitos so he got behind the bar and worked his magic.

It was the perfect ending to the most fantastic holiday. I couldnt have had a better time and I can't believe I've been missing out all this years! I cant wait to go back to Vendee, but in the meantime Em is off to Paris in September to do a masters so I know there will be plenty of new French adventures to come first...Just Watch this space.

A sunset picnic on the beach

Its tradition in Vendee that one night in the summer everybody gets together and has a picnic on the beach to watch the sunset. I was lucky enough to be around for this, and it really was a truly magical experience. You couldn't get much closer to nature than this if you tried, and it was so nice to be able to just sit back and take it all in.

I was actually surprised by how many people there were. They just kept coming and coming, not to mention the fact that all of these people knew each other! Everybody was so friendly, and the greetings (the classic French kiss on each cheek) never seemed to end!

We were pretty pushed for time beforehand so we just made up sandwiches(Pate and Cornichons was the obvious choice, grabbed a few bags of crisps and a bottle of red wine and headed for the beach.

Two little sandwich lovers.

Vin Rouge...

...which required serious concentration.

After eating all of the boys headed off to play rugby. There was a good mix of English and French, many of which couldn't even utter a word of the others language. I have always found it so touching how sport connects people. It just shows how language is really only a barrier if you let it become one. 

This left me and Em to have a good old gossip whilst enjoying the last of the evenings sun.

We took a look around and realised that there were four generations all mingling, chattering and laughing away together, right from elderly grandparents down to teenie tiny tots. Family is so important in France, and I think that everybody could do with taking a leaf out of their book. 

 Em and her mama

 

As the sun continued to set it started to get a little chilly so we packed up and decided to head home. I couldn't have picked a more picturesque dinner spot, and its certainly something I'll remember for years to come. My time in France went ridiculously fast, and after this I only had one day left... but theres more on that to come...