Three days off in France

So I get to post some... which is actually quite nice. Granted I'm finished with my time off now. Work starts back promptly at 9am tomorrow and I can say with a disturbing amount of certainty that in 24 hours this beautiful, grand estate will once again be lousy with pubescent children. In the meantime, however, I just wanted to share some pictures I took and some food I've eaten. I really need to try this orange and chocolate tart that the local bakery makes.



Try to remake it at home that is. It's hard to tell if the filling is orange curd or an orange pastry cream - either way it's covered in delicious chocolate ganache. Personally, I'm not a fan of orange infused chocolate, but that's why I love this tart - there are two distinct layers that let each flavor come through.



Also there are some pretty amazing gardens around Aze which definitely make my runs and hikes much more enjoyable. I think everyone around here has a green thumb.



And this is perhaps nature's most beautiful color, in my humble opinion.



Part of me can't wait to get back... I've got so many ideas for the fall and new desserts to try out. It just occurred to me that in the sugar free category, many french pastries I've had don't really contain much sugar. In general, they aren't overly sweet, so it strikes me that using a substitute of some kind could still make for a delicious treat.