Heaven in the here and now

Tomorrow I’m off to Portugal and the Porto. I have strict instructions from my French and Portugese friends to avoid the Algarve. Nothing but English and fish and chips.

My job takes me to all parts of the Orléans area. Today I was in a back street near the theatre. I spied a seedy brasserie and couldn’t resist a bit of local colour. The lunch took me way way back to my student days and lunch on 5 francs. Everything was right, the Gaulloise smoking Frenchmen at the bar,the paper table cloth which is soaked with red wine, the pernod carafe of water. The unidentified bottle of rouge from which you help yourself. Excellent taste once the sandpaper effect wears off. The meal was a fixed price 10 euro deal, nothing written down. Starter, oeuf dur mayonnaise. I just love them, I smother them with pepper and dip the baguette in the mayonnaise. On to an excellent omelette au jambon. Then, two whole camemberts dumped on the table, help yourself. Absolutely perfect, two large lumps were readily consumed. Yes, yes wait for it. Dessert was…. Crème caramel in those little offwhite dishes. The crème a dirty cream and the gorgeous bitter caramel at the bottom.

Heaven, heaven, heaven. Anyone for Macdo?