Rain Day in Die

September 8, 2024

It's 7:30am, and Tamara, Georges, and I are standing on the patio, looking up at sinister, dark skies. Georges declares that we must stay another day. We have a slow breakfast. Coffee is served out of bowls, as is typical here. There's homemade yoghurt, which I eat with gusto with (also homemade) cherry and mint jam. I'm impressed by the cherry and mint flavour profile. Then, Geneviève and I head down to their garden for a morning harvest. A ratatouille is planned for lunch.

After lunch is prepped, GG propose a walkabout in Die. Four umbrellas in hand, off we go. Not cycling today was definitely the correct call. It's a beautiful walk, and GG run into many of their acquaintances. I receive helpful corrections to my rusty French. Not le cinqième septembre (September fifth), but le cinq septembre (September five).

After lunch, the rain starts beating down like a drum. We settle in for an afternoon board game called Tak-Tik. Then, of course, apéro. On the meat plate is the smoked filet mignon we bought in Crest. And the halved wheel in the centre is homemade deer pâté. I love game meats, and this deer pâté was exceptional. I asked for some of the cherry mint jam as well. Bread, cheese, cherry mint jam, and deer pâté is my dream apéro. I try pastis, a traditional digestif from Marseille. Not my thing, but Tamara loves the stuff. We toast with a bottle of Clairette de Die to a relaxing afternoon.

Then, another walk! We're driving past vineyards as Georges navigates the car through backroads. This town is adorable and their tourism office has even set up a fence with different grape varietals to sample. Muscat is my favourite.

Dinner is pistou, a hearty pesto bean soup. We've been eating so well, and Tamara and I both have seconds. Tomorrow's going to be a big day, with about 1400m in climbing over a metric century. Georges advises us on our route tomorrow, recommending we make a pass through the Col de Carabès.

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