Tuesday 28th July 2009.

It was a strange way to start the day, pulling into the car park at Gaugry Fromagerie to see a Bentley converible, a Ferrari 599, and an Aston Martin DBS sitting in the car park accompanied by steely faced security personel, wired with ear pieces and rippling with the kind of muscles only seen in the movies. We tried to ask who the VIP's were but there was no joy. Even the staff looking after our visit were not told who they were. To this day it still remains a secret. Needless to say, AJ didn't give two hoots who they were, he was just happy to oogle at the cars for a while.

We were taken on a private tour of Gaugry Fromagerie. I had come to unlock the secrets of Epoisses fromage, so revered in Burgundy, another one of those regional treasures. It lived up to the hype (as did all but one of the Gaugry cheeses), luxuriously soft and only a little bit stinky as far as washed rind cheeses go. Their hospitality was spot on, warm and welcoming. We were introduced to Olivier Gaugry, 3rd generation cheese expert. Our picnic bag was stocked with an Epoisse and a soft Soumaintrain to be enjoyed on our afternoon picnic at who knows where.

Tonight we had a date at the neighbors for dinner. We stopped in Beaune and bought a bush of the most delicate yellow roses as a gift for our new found friends. Dinner was so much fun and soooo yummy. We ate quite regionally which was great. We began with ripe melon filled with creme de cassis in the hollow where the seeds had once clung. Tatiana had cooked us a beef bourguignon using a treasured recipe from her Grandmother. Not traditional at all as it didn't use a drop of red wine but was cooked in a tomato and creme based sauce. She served it with a smooth mash (she later told me she used a mouli, her secret for a perfectly smooth result) which was the perfect accompaniment. Two specialities of Bourgogne were trotted out for the fromage course, the Epoisses I had learned so much about yesterday and Le Petit Vougeot, not unlike an Espoisse but whiter in colour rather than tinged with an orangey terracotta colour. Both were vastly different from the Gaugry cheeses from this morning. Mille feuille followed for dessert and the good times flowed.

The next installment of drama was about to unfold, we were blissfully unaware of what was to come until... BANG, CRASH, CLATTER!!! It sounded like a semi trailer had run into the house. We all ran in the direction of the sound and there was AJ sitting half was down the stairs with part of our lovely neighbor's wall adrift beside him. I hung my head, shaking it from side to side. Our friends laughed and laughed, AJ joined in and slowly but surely I began to see the funny side and so did JR. We all stood in the hallway, the kids had all gathered around by this time, what a funny sight it was. They just didn't know what they were getting themselves into when they invited us over for dinner did they? They assured us that the same section of wood had come adrift in the past and it was not problem. We snapped a few pics to record the installment in our book of family disasters.


We rolled home in the wee hours after enjoying another heart warming time with new found friends in this wonderful place they call France.