Read Online Our House is Definitely Not in Paris by Susan Cutsforth - Free Book Online

enticing wicker chair, sip espresso and watch the French world wander past. Perhaps a life of rénovation means I am more appreciative of these moments than if I was a tourist passing through.
    It has been a truly successful first week, for not only have there been numerous trips to Brive for Stuart, but we have also had déjeuner at La Rocaille with Gérard, Dominique and Jean-Claude at the outset. Country fare is quite different to Parisian cuisine . All the produce is locally grown and the menus always feature the bountiful fresh produce of our département .
    After yet another cool, cloudy start to the day, we gather with our friends for the first lunch of summer, and the sun bursts through in a blaze. We sit outside on the terrace under a striped umbrella, soaking up the view of green rolling hills crowned by the château on the horizon at Turenne. Entrée is cèpe pâté — delicately flavoured mushrooms. This is followed by d’agneau ; lamb is another speciality of our region. The meal is complete with a delicate dessert of panna cotta, its smooth texture enlivened by the citrus tang of marmalade. Though Italian in origin, this dessert makes a frequent appearance on menus in France; indeed, they have assimilated it as one of their own. I am sure that Michelin chefs would deny its origins as other than the most authentic French dish. No doubt their creative interpretation of it has made it sublimely French.
    We are both astonished that in the now intense warmth, Jean-Claude and Gérard share a bottle of rouge vin . Red wine and midday sun are sure to induce summer afternoon slumber. A siesta was not on the agenda, for it was off to Brive for yet another of our many shopping trips together. A petite carafe of rosé is quite sufficient for the ensuing four hours that consist of traipsing around the shops, armed with a list of household necessities. This time it’s covers for the outside chaise lounges , food from Carrefour and, most exciting of all, an automatic pool winder for the cover. Stuart ordered the oddly named ‘Droopi 2’ some weeks ago. To our relief, the box is waiting at Piscine Ambiance with ‘ Reserve Cutsfort ’ in bold, capital letters. Ah, the power of the internet, I think yet again. This purchase is our summer indulgence. No more struggling with the heavy cover that has to be ever-so-carefully lifted and precisely folded each time we want to use la piscine .
    The prosaic items at Carrefour are the basic necessities to stock our petite maison again, as well as Tour de France T-shirts to take home as gifts for our friends who are looking after our petit e Henri. The s upermarché outing is enlivened by our, as always, avid examination of the extensive aisles of vin . Stuart was excited to discover a guide to the best value champagne in France in Le Figaro . We eagerly scan the staggering array and carefully select a few bottles. Real champagne, at extraordinarily affordable prices. We have, however, run out of time today for one of our other favourite summer outings: a visit to the trocs in search of second-hand treasure.
    Since the next day is cool and cloudy, it’s off to Brive yet again. Fortified by a morning at the markets in Martel and an outing with Dominique to a second-hand-shop in nearby Cressensac, après-midi proves to be the perfect time to shop, for it is always much quieter than the morning rush. This time we select brightly coloured impatiens to decorate each side of the huge wooden la grange doors. A delicate pink fuchsia is chosen to plant next to our très joli steps. Truly, Pied de la Croix has been transformed in just a few years from a rénovation site to a home. Even better, this year there was no dead pigeon on the doorstep to greet our weary arrival, no mouse in the house, no flapping tarpaulin on la grange roof and no ominous lapin activity in le cave.

Foreign Exhibits and High Drama
    I know that our unexpected