Walking Scents

It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so we took advantage of the nice day today - it made sense to take a walk!

Black Locust Flower and Hot Bread!

And a walk full of scents it was!

Back to the Préfecture

I went back to the préfecture this morning - guess what time?

Sunrise at the Train Station

My récépissé (receipt that shows I'm waiting for my card) for my carte de séjour expires tomorrow, and I need a valid one until I get my actual card. 

So, I went in to Montpellier to stand in line:

5:00 am - I'm awake! Honest! (My family needs a moment to catch a breath)

6:00 am - leave for the bus, then catch the train

7-ish - kill some time in the Montpellier train station, then walk to the préfecture

8:00 am - wait in line

8:15 - the gates open! We all go in and wait in another line!

8:40 - I have my ticket, and there are only two people ahead of me. I get to sit in line :-) 

9:10 - it's my turn at the window! Oh, look. It's my dossier. It was returned. "Did you have a visit from the police?" "Yes (me, looking up the date) in February." "OK, don't worry. No, I don't know what the status is, but don't worry." 

9:15 - I have my new récépissé, good until the end of July. Sigh.

9:30 - back at the train station. I take the opportunity to make some headway on our train tickets that we had to change due to the rolling strikes. THEN! I look for a train home - hah! There are supposed to be trains every hour, but, due to "perturbations"... 

12:50 - my train leaves - omg, I'm going home! 

All Afternoon - So, so, tired.

Coq Tacheté (French Speckled Rooster)

Coq Tacheté (French Speckled Rooster)

When we lived in Costa Rica, we got quite attached to Gallo Pinto, which is a rice and beans dish. It translates literally to "Speckled Rooster," due to the color, which is brownish with small bits of white and red.

Over the years, I modified my recipe (http://slowtravelin.blogspot.fr/2014/07/is-it-still-gallo-pinto.html).

Now, here in France, I have a different version! And, of course, a modified name :-)

Coq Tacheté (French Speckled Rooster)

In a pot, combine:
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup French green lentils
dash salt
2 cups water
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Let cool.

For the basic Coq Tacheté:
Heat oil in a pan to medium-high, and cook approximately equal parts:
finely chopped onion
finely chopped celery (optional)
finely chopped sweet red chile*
Add the rice and lentils and heat through, slightly scorching the mixture
Salt and pepper to taste

For breakfast, add scrambled eggs
For dinner, add a green veggie and chicken
For something more exotic, use coconut milk

~~~
* if you can't find this, then use bell pepper, but only stirred in just before serving (otherwise, they're tasteless)

Loupian Garrigue Hike

Loupian Garrigue Hike

Garrigue, Étang, and Sète

Today, we had quite a large hiking group! About 15 of us started from the Église Sainte-Cécile in Loupian, and walked around the "garrigue" - you can think of this as French chaparral (just no manzanita!). It was definitely Spring in the hills :-)

Poppies

White Iris on a hillside

Purple Iris

 We went off-piste to view this result of boxite mining

Then back to more flowers!

Wild thyme and yellow flowers

A wild orchid

This was an interesting plant - close-up, the flowers resembled birds!

You'll have to forgive the poor quality here, but can you see the birds? I did this specifically so you wouldn't have to squint ;-)

We walked through a little bit of forest

Then back to the sunny side of the slopes

Hawthorne

Over the ridge, we could see the étang, with its oyster and mussel beds, and Sète behind

More garrigue

And flowers

We ended up back in Loupian at Le Bar GQ, where three of us women ordered "galopin" - the waiter brought 3 galopins to the 3 Graces :-) We had a nice laugh, because in addition to galopin being a small glass of beer (~1/2 cup), it's also a rascally boy.

"Galopin" actually comes from the verb "to gallop," which naturally made me think of the Galloping Gourmet - take a moment (or 20), and see something about jambalaya (https://youtu.be/qbjr_gIRyKI)

~~~
This hike was just over 8 km, with a 150m elevation change. The path was mainly rocky dirt roads, with some mown sections.

Spring Reprise!

Spring is finally, *really* here! Sète faked me out a few times this Winter, let's hope I'm not getting taken again!

For days, we had thunderstorm after rainstorm after gray drizzle - it made for a somewhat unpleasant Escale, but we had a little sun break through now and then

Now? The foreseeable future is all sun and warmth!

Braised Quail with Kiwi

Braised Quail with Kiwi

Season 4 quail with salt and pepper.
Heat butter and oil in a pot on medium-high heat, and brown the quail on all sides.

Remove the quail from the pan, and set aside.

Braised Quail (yeah the head surprised me too)

Add bacon/allumettes and 1 chopped onion to the pan and  brown. Stir in ~1tablespoon of flour, and cook 1 minute.

Deglaze the pan with 2 cups of liquid*

Return the quail to the pot, cover, and simmer until the quail is just cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Remove the quail and keep warm; boil the liquid, uncovered, to reduce.

Add 2 chopped kiwis and a splash of liqueur (port, triple-sec) to the sauce and heat through.

Serve with rice and green veggies.

~~~
* broth, wine, juice

based on this (modified by Costa Rican experiments) :
https://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/laura-calder/braised-quails-with-wild-mushrooms-2010138

Pesto Pasta Salad

We have regular potluck lunches in Sète, run by an association known as The Sailor's Club. It's a very pleasant way to share Anglo/French cultures and languages. We all get a smattering of different dishes and wines. But we have to be inventive, because the room where we meet has no good way to heat (or keep hot) food.

I was running out of cold-food ideas, and fell back on my classic pasta salad. Or, I tried to :-D So many ingredients are different here, that I was substituting something for nearly everything! Then Rick suggested pesto...

Pesto Pasta Salad

• rotini (torsade) pasta, cooked, drained, cooled
• sun-dried tomatoes, chopped, with oil
• cooked chicken breast, chopped
• broccoli (raw), chopped small
• pesto (basil/Genovese)

Spring - Strike Season

It's Spring! And so, naturally, it's also Strike Season!

I now have this picture on my homescreen

It shows the dates of the "rolling strikes" put in place by the French railway. In June, I expect to see a new calendar. On the days circled, there will be minimal train service (usually just one train between destinations in the morning, and one returning in the evening).

It has already disrupted one trip - we changed our travel to a day earlier, and added a hotel.

Options? Fly, bus, blablacar...

Sainte Julie

My French friend wished me a happy feast day today! In the Catholic tradition, children celebrate the feast day of their namesake, and today is Sainte Julie day :-)

Sainte Julie in Elne, France

When I first arrived in Sète, I joined clubs - people were often surprised that I was Californian, but had a French name. I say "Mes parents ont prévu" (My parents predicted - or planned) that I would live in France :-)

Does this mean I have to be saintly? All day?!? Mmm - no ;-)

Spring Flowers

Spring Flowers :-) :-)

Escale à Sète - Le Départ

Escale à Sète, the departure :-(

This afternoon, the tallships left Sète (well, most of them did). Because of the weather, they moved the departure time earlier - so were were hanging out in the canals by 2:00. We were being prudent, in part because there were a *lot* of boats out on the water to say goodbye, and partly because the sea was *moche* (very ugly)!

Check out this animation, from 4 pictures I took of a ketch going out past the breakwater

We were out there earlier, and I can tell you, it was exciting! And I'm glad we came back inside after only a short tour!

We saw off the Kruzenshtern

And so did a lot of others

L'Hermione stayed in port

As did El Galeón

The Shtandart sailed off

As did La Grâce

And now to wait 2 more years for the next one...