Sunday, April 1

It's April Fool's Day but this is not a joke. It's also Sunday, which means a lot of us have time to enjoy a quiet morning and have a nice breakfast. Here's one of the great attractions of France for a lot of people who come here as tourists: fresh croissants !

Pains au chocolat and croissants for a good French breakfast

Paris in springtime is full of flowers. These are some pictures I took there in April 2002, during the trip that turned out to be a big turning point, because soon afterwards we decided to come to live in France permanently.

Flower beds in a small park in the 7th arrondissement in Paris

After that breakfast, could you still be hungry for lunch? It's asparagus season in France. Les asperges come in two varieties here, blanches or vertes. The ones grown near Saint-Aignan are mostly the white kind. They grow well in the sandy soil of the area called La Sologne, just north and east of Saint-Aignan.

Asperges on display at a Paris street market in April 2002

We bought our first asparagus of the season at the Saint-Aignan farmers market yesterday morning. Seasonal produce is still a way of life in France. Outside of asparagus season — April through June — we don't find asparagus at markets.

A tarte aux fraises made by Walt

Very soon it will be strawberry season — the sandy soil of La Sologne is also ideal for growing that delicacy. Because they are grown nearby, the strawberries don't have to be picked before they are ripe in order to survive the journey from field to market. They are just right and taste even better than they look.