The most enjoyable thing you can do in France, is live like someone who actually lives in France. Especially if it is just for one day so you can sample the good life without actually having to live here on a daily basis. Just kidding, we love it here.
Anyhow, we devised a full day program that will bring you as close as possible to the daily life of – say, France in the 1950’s. And believe it or not, there are still many people who more or less live the same way. Simple and content. What we are proposing to do, is organize a family dinner!

Buying food

We leave around ten in the morning to go foraging for our evening meal. If there is a market somewhere in the area, that is where we will start. If not, we’ll visit the butcher, the green grocer or a horticultural garden that sell straight to the public, for season veggies. Also, we’ll get some really good cheeses, for a tasty assortment. Everything we buy will be stored in a fridge, so we have time for a nice lunch in a local restaurant.

How about drinks?

Of course, we need to get some good wines, as well. We could go to the supermarket or a wholesaler, but that would be no fun. We’d rather visit one or two local wine growers, who will let us taste before we buy, and tell us about how their wines are made. How about some beer? We know a very interesting micro-brewery, a real gem, tucked away in an ugly hangar, where a young and dynamic couple makes the best beer and food.
By the way, beer and wine are not included, because of the big differences in taste and price. We can however offer an included wine-arrangement with some small and bigger wines from our region and beyond. Or how about a blind tasting during dinner?

A farmers’ barbecue

From the rich vineyards on the hills, we trickle down to the valley of the Saône river. Here we find clay soils with corn, chicken and cows. We will visit a farm with the world renowned free range ‘Poulet de Bresse’, the only chicken with a protected AOC brand. And we’ll finish up in the garden of a farmer family, who’ve already stoked up the BBQ for us. Between the chicken, the family dog, the barn and the tractor we take our time to prepare the meal while having a typical anisette aperitif, followed by a rustic dinner, shared with the French family, who’ll be glad to tell you about the French life, organic farming, the weather and what have you. We take our time to enjoy the evening and the company, and are blown away when the stars come out in this area with no light pollution.

De driver stayed with us as well, but did not partake in the alcoholic beverages, so he can safely drive us to our hotel beds.