Sunday, November 9, 2008

Deauville, France: Too chic for this chick!



I had received an invitation from my Deauville grandparents to go stay with them from Saturday to Sunday. On Saturday night we were to go to a party where I would meet members of the Jumelage de Deauville (twinning committee between Lexington and Deauville), and on Sunday we'd have breakfast and dinner together. The little party ended up being a big shabang with about 1000 people in attendance, complete with a band and a dance and an enormous meal! It was a party for many of Deauville and Trouville's clubs (like the Jumelage). Even the mayor was there.

The dinner was fabulous. We had appetizers, a salmon salad, duck, potatoes au gratin, winter veggies, a cheese plate, and a dessert plate with three different kinds of apple desserts. I sat next to Philippe Behuet, the president of the Jumelage. He and his wife are extremely friendly and charming. M. Behuet kept me entertained by telling me about the things he loves about America, which include: Cinnamon Pop-Tarts, Cracker Barrel at 6:00 AM, Wal-Mart late at night, and White Castle. I was so glad to have finally met M. Behuet after having pestered him all summer about details about my trip here.

I had a large French breakfast at the Lioults this morning. I think that because of our language barrier I communicated to them that I wanted way more food than I actually did. They had me carbo-loaded and stuffed with toast, some other sort of bread, a croissant, marmalade, and a soft-boiled egg for which I summoned all of my training from watching Wooster & Jeeves in order to eat properly. After that M. Lioult and I went on a small tour of Deauville in which we saw the beach, the Hotel de Deauville (where the celebrities stay), the casino, and the Sunday market.

For lunch we drove to Honfleur, a beautiful city with the oldest wooden church in the world and a lovely port. We ate at a restaurant that apparently Queen Elizabeth II had visited at one point, according to a plaque on the wall! I had mussels and lamb with chocolate fondant for dessert. We also visited a place above the city with a mariner's chapel.

And now I'm back in little old Caen!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! The president of the Jumelage loves White Castle! He has no doubt experienced the finest cuisine in America!

Anonymous said...

Ooh ordering dessert now? What college kids do without parental supervision...
-Lieber Maribeth!

Anonymous said...

White Castle is where it's at.