Fun in the Mayenne Department

Le Mans station is properly equipped for travelers. They have ramps not stairs to get to and from the platform...no more lugging those bloody bags just roll them down the runways. So pleased to see Annie and Daisy Dog.

Its been a while and this is our first visit to her lovely home in the Mayenne Department.
Le Moulin de la Rochelle is situated in St Mars du Desert.
As you can tell from the name it is an old mill. Annie and her late husband John purchased this wonderful property about 20 years ago.
It is divine.
This trip so far in only 2 weeks we have gone from an Amsterdam Mansion

to a Paris Dolls House

Down a Magical Drive


to a Fairytale Cottage.
My 7 and 8 year old grand children would vouch for that.
This afternoon, they looked at the photos and thought it looked just like Snow White’s Cottage. Situated about 50 kms west of Le Mans.
Our first stop was at the wonderful Charcuterie des Alpes Mancelle in the village of Fresnay sur Sarthe.
We left Dale in the car with Daisy Dog

I thought I had done pretty well with Les Rillettes at the Cafe de Flores, but this Charcuterie has won a prize for theirs, and I can certainly vouch for that, they were divine. I can’t tell you how much I loved that fatty food from France. (n.b. The cholesterol was definitely up on return home! I may have overdone it. But you only live once and I wasn't missing out on anything.)

The food was so well displayed. A veritable culinary delight. There was all kinds of offal, wonderful pressed tongue, Ham in Aspic, “Things” en croute...terrine, superb salads, all so, so inviting. Also famous for their sausages and andouille. We didn’t buy their black pudding though.
Apparently, I was to wait to try the best black pudding in the district, at lunch on Sunday.
Annie had ordered a Chicken and Ham Fricassee it was delicious.
Carrot salad and celeriac salad as well.
So let’s start with lunch, Salad Nicoise with fresh crunchy bread from Madame Patard’s Boulangerie.
Annie and Dale set up the table in the garden.


Accompanied by Les Rillettes and of course cheese from the region..
All washed down with a crisp white wine.
Quite a bit of wine in fact, all 3 of us needed a nap before we tackled pre dinner drinks and then dinner.
We stayed up late drinking and catching up.

Not a problem we could lie in, only a trip to the market in the morning, was the plan.