So, my wife and I were in Europe from August into October hiking along the el camino/le chemin/the…read moreway of santiago, saint jacque, st. james. Google it if you would like more info. Well, we were having a rough day. We had a long hike, and the weather was beginning to turn. At an earlier, less enchanting B&B, we had been turned away. With my broken french, I managed to ask the proprietors of that place to call ahead to the next place. When I asked them to make a reservation, I received the reply très cher. Undeterred, I made the reservation.
I can still remember the view of our new place in the distance, joking with Elissa that perhaps we had been ripped off. From afar, the b and b just looked like a plain wooden house or barn. Plus it was in the middle of nowhere. According to our guidebook, it was in a village, but the village apparently consisted of this barn and nothing else. Those feelings vanished as we rounded the corner and saw a couple enjoying a bottle of wine on a private terrace overlooking the beautiful landscape. The hotel was modern but inviting, and the owners were very warm and not put off by our stinky pilgrimness. Once we saw our room, we were so enchanted that we both decided we deserved a rest day the next day as well. The bed was comfy, the bathroom was super clean (a rarity in France), and it even had a towel warmer so we could dry our clothes after hand-washing them. In short, it may have been one of the best hotels we've ever stayed in, and Elissa is already planning a trip back next year (but driving this time).
The next morning was met with a delicious and generous breakfast. We had local honey and jam, a type of bread that is a specialty of the region, and, of course, pain chocolat (chocolate-filled croissants). The proprietors told us they actually baked the croissants themselves. Evidently, it's very common for people in France to buy the croissants frozen, let them sit out overnight to defrost and rise, and then bake them in the morning. The funny thing is, the croissants made this way are far superior to anything I've had in the USA, and I liked to think of myself as a croissantophile. Anyway, I digress.
The owner and his wife offered us two things for the day: 1) use of their bikes to explore the area and 2) to wash our clothes. Have I mentioned how much I loved this place?
The hotel is fantastic, but the surrounding countryside was beyond beautiful. We'd never even really heard of this part of France, the Aubrac region, and that may be part of why we were both so charmed by it. Sadly, since we were down to using the cell phone camera at this point, the pictures can't do it justice, but we definitely plan to return to this portion of France when we get the chance.
That evening, we decided to eat at the "host's table." It was basically a meal cooked by the host (who attended culinary school and was a foodie to the nth degree) for all eight hotel guests. We started with aperitifs that were local to the region accompanied by some small bites, then we moved from the salon to the dinner table for mushroom risotto. Following that was sauteed zucchini and potatoes au gratin made with local cheese. After that was baked salmon. At that point, we were pretty much about to explode despite the calorie deficit we'd been running prior to this meal. What amazed us was the French people we'd been eating with appeared to have four stomachs. They cleaned their plates after every course without any problem while we were struggling to finish everything. (It's impolite in France to leave food on the plate.) The food was amazing, but by the time the cheese course came around (prior to the dessert), we could only sample a couple of the cheeses. Finally, the dessert, a baked apple stuffed with ice cream, was served, and dinner was finished... except for the digestif. Stuffed, we stumbled up to bed to sleep before the long day of hiking ahead.