Learning to drive (again)

A beautiful sunset tonight with the clouds, sky, and moon in a million shades of orange, then pink and purple. Today I went to Auto Ecole Tony, a driving school in my town in order to sit in on one of their classes. After 18 years of successful (and non-incident) driving in the US, I've decided to get my French driver's license and learn how to drive in France. For someone who loves the freedom of driving in Boston, I miss having a car and knowing how to navigate traffic and where to go. They say Boston drivers are horrible - well, I didn't fear for my life until I met French and Swiss drivers. The road lanes are smaller here, and in our neighborhood, more twisty and turny than I'm used to. And the drivers are crazier!! Wish me luck as I learn how to drive here.





And here's a photo of my "backyard", the rolling countryside behind our house where R and I often walk and where the creamy cows often graze. As you can see, it's still quite green, but in a matter of weeks, I think autumn colors will start to show. On our evening walks, R and I can't help but notice all the fruit trees in our neighborhood that are heavy with fruit. Everyone seems to have an apple, pear, prune, fig, peach, or quince tree. There are even chestnut (chataignes) and walnut trees - just the other night, I picked my first walnut; the outer fruit is green and when you cut it open, the walnut reveals itself. To get at the meat, you'll have to crack the shell.

And at the end of September or early October, I hope to pick my first quinces. Down the hill from the garden, where mushrooms are now sprouting in the horse fermiere (manure), we have an old quince tree next to the 6 adult cherry trees and the blackberry bushes - the quinces are still green but I'm looking forward to making these apple and quince tartlets, from La Tartine Gourmand. I've been spending some time reading her blog and recipes and for me, it is food/photo porn. She is French but now lives in Boston and writes for the Boston Globe too! I haven't tried any of her recipes yet, but I will definitely make something one day soon!