Hannah, thinking the espresso machine had been running for awhile, : "Chuck, how many espressos have you had?" He looks sheepishly down at the ground and replies, "well... 6", and then qualifies each one by saying "one for each member of the family and one for Cowboy Bob and one for Sioux" (our 2 dogs). Yeah. With that our daily adventure began.
We were on our way to a morning market in Arles, France; a little town only 45 minutes from our apartment. We (Hannah and Cedar) thought the plan was to attend the market and look at some flea market items along with local produce. That's because last night Barbs had told us that the plan was to attend the market and look at some flea market items along with local produce. After doing said shopping for an hour and a half, we thought we were about to head back to the apartment. Lo and behold, Barbs sprung on us that she wanted to view the Van Gough easels displayed in Arles. (Van Gough painted several paintings in this small town based on the scenery, so the location where he painted each piece of art is designated in multiple spots).The issue here, is that this is not an atypical event, as each day so far on the trip, an extra outing has been thrown on us, right as our feet are puttering out.
We (Cedar and Hannah) had picked out some fresh produce at the market, and were eager to make a delectable salad for lunch. While hand cleaning each piece of lettuce, chopping the tomatoes and carrots, shearing the chicken, and slicing the cheese (all from the market) Barbs asked, "can I have some salad to go with my focaccia?" Completely annoyed with the question (due to being surprised by the easel outing) we replied, "uhhh, I guess. I mean if there is any left.."
After sitting down to devour 3 helpings of the delicious salad (including Barbs' portion) we realized we had, not only enough for Barbs, but enough for us to eat the salad for a couple of days. Maybe even weeks. Sorry Mom, we let our hunger get the better of us.
After getting to know each other, the TE (truffle expert) joined us, alongside the truffle-hunting dogs (THD). We had expected grand, tall-standing, muscular, impressive dogs such as Great Danes. Much to our surprise, in ran 2 small terrier-looking dogs. They were so cute it was hard to believe that these 2 dogs were behind such a lucrative operation. Then we began the hunting, guided by Johann (TH). We watched, amazed, as the dogs led us to each truffle, every time rewarded with a dog cookie.
Then we were led to their "summer kitchen" next to the pool and were given a sampling of dishes with the freshly picked truffles and local champagne. We visited with our fellow tourmates and Lisa, all bonding over being from America and raving over each dish that was more amazing than the previous.
Ultimately the hunt is our favorite thing on this trip so far, even pushing aside swimming in the Mediterranean to a still credible second place.
Then when Barbs went to wash her hands she overheard the waiter telling the chef our food order. They both let out a guffaw when he came around to Hannah's order, which further perplexed us.
We were finally clued into the joke when the plate was set down in front of Hannah. It was a completely chocolate mousse with a creme anglaise, no crepe to be found. It turned out that Hannah was so excited, she completely bypassed the dessert crepes and jumped to the 'dessert' column.
The whole evening ordeal took so long, that we finally had to face driving in the dark in Europe. We conquered it, but it was no slam-dunk with the manual engine, dark skies, and two-way roads that barely fit one car.
Anyways, we made it alive, and tomorrow we might tour a winery, visit an art cave, or explore a beach; really wherever the wind takes us that isn’t shopping. Chuck is shopped out. See photo above for further evidence.
--Hannah and Cedar