Sunday, July 17, 2016

Dreaming of France -- Outdoor Dining


Thank you for joining this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.

Before I jump into outdoor dining, I want to direct you to Sim Carter's blog Chapter 1 Take 1, where she allows me to share the actors who would be my dream cast if my novel were made into a movie. Just one hint about the main character, Sadie:

Visit Chapter 1 Take 1 to see who the rest of the picks are. And thanks, Sim, for giving me the opportunity. 

What is it about al fresco dining and France that go together? Yes, I know that the words are Italian, but just a glance at cafés and restaurants in Paris and throughout France makes you realize how much the French enjoy eating outside.
Earl and I sat at an outside table yesterday having cocktails and hors d'oeuvres -- dates stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in bacon to go with our gin and tonics. The evening was delightfully fresh, without the normal humidity we expect in July.
Time spent enjoying our outside dining reminded me of the many times we've enjoyed meals along the front of a French restaurant.
Here I am sitting under a canopy in a square in Aix en Provence enjoying a Kir Royale. My first drink in France when we traveled there last year.

We had a delicious lunch on the terrace of a restaurant in Marseille along the Vieux Port.

And, of course, we take every opportunity to eat outside in Paris.

This restaurant is on Ile de la Cité.
What do you think? Do you connect outdoor dining with France?

I'm also linking to Paris in July. Hope you'll play along with both Dreaming of France and Paris in July. We can't have too much France love, right?



Thanks so much for playing along with Dreaming of France. Please leave your name and a link to your blog on Mr. Linky below. I really appreciate your participation and I hope you'll leave a comment plus visit each other's blogs.

9 comments:

Sim Carter said...

Hi Paulita!
Did you forget I was sharing your guest post today? I've just published your wonderful suggestions for your Paris Runaway dream cast.

Personally I think your two leads make a dreamy duo!

Here’s Paulita’s guest post over at Chapter1-Take1

Paulita said...

Sim, No way could I forget. And you're right. I should have linked to it in my post, so I've amended that. Thanks so much for hosting my dream cast.

Sim Carter said...

Thanks Paulita! I love sharing your casting ideas for the characters in your books. I don't know if you noticed but I included links to your casting suggestions for your two previous novels set in France, The Summer of France and I See London I See France. Third times the charm?

Esme said...

France is all about the outdoor dining and kir royales.

Louise said...

I love French dining, inside and out. I'm quite partial to a kir royale as well actually.

Anonymous said...

I ate outside with thousands of people on July 14 in Carcassonne. It was PACKED. The thought did occur to me that this could be a target, like so many thousands of town squares across the country. But I was heartened that there were literally thousands of people in our little town, eating on the terrace, and giving a big middle finger to terrorists. Half a million to 700,000 people come to the fireworks here, so what's usualy a town of 47,000 becomes a completely different place. People weren't afraid. In fact, they were surprisingly polite. And neat. I've walked through rivers of litter after fireworks elsewhere (I'm looking at you, London 2000), but I didn't even notice any after such incredible crowds went through. It also occurred to me, as the street lights were turned off and this huge crowd was engulfed in complete darkness, that I wasn't even concerned about pickpockets (not that it's ever been an issue). Don't worry, Paulita, it's quite safe in France.

But you are in France, Madame said...

My blog today (top://butyouareinfrancemadame.blogspot.com.au) features the beauty of France. I hope it helps to re-focus our thoughts on what we love, and why we believe in France.

But you are in France, Madame said...

whoops...don't know where the 'top' in the blog address came from...http://butyouareinfrancemadame.blogspot.com

Emily S said...

Great article. During the spring, summer, and autumn months of the year, many families probably love being outdoors in the warm weather. If you want to create a unique outdoor dining area in and around Melbourne, then you can try The Chase Hotel.

Cockadoodle Doo or Cocorico?

 We stood in the middle of the road, having walked together 13 miles that day and Claudine grasped my forearm. "Mais non! It doesn'...