Oh my gosh...today I got to walk again with the wonderful and charming French women that I have walked with before. It was a 3 hour, 10 kilometer walk through more oak and chestnut forest and more beautiful paths, with gently sloping vistas of plowed fields, cows in wooded pastures, and tiny stone hamlets in the distant hills. At one point we came across an old hamlet of stone houses and pigeonniers with a carpet of blooming lavender cyclamen flowers nestled in deep green grass. Ooo la la! I wasn’t the only one amazed.

The highlight of the day though, may have been finding about a dozen large and edible mushrooms, several the size of an open hand. These experienced French women knew exactly what kind of mushrooms they were. I ended up being gifted with half of them, and tonight, Dave’s and my dinner was these fungi, sliced and sautéed briefly in garlic, olive oil and butter. Holding the mushroom felt like holding a very light fluffy pancake, and they cooked up into a very tender and almost fluffy consistency with a mild and delicate flavor. We sat in front of a wonderful fire drinking champagne and thoroughly enjoying this rare treat, and my stories of today’s walk. Photos below:

The first one of a dozen!