Friday was a great day of French Christmas activities. PA and I made a batch of date balls to bring to the party that night. At 7pm, we metroed to meet his mom to drive to his aunt Therese's house. It was the Levillain side of the family with three of PA's aunts, a cousin, her two kids, and then PA's immediate family.
We were a bit late, having gotten lost on the way to the small town outside Rennes. The kids were eating already so we just chilled. When they went to the kitchen for their desserts, Pere Noël or Father Christmas dropped off their presents! The kids scrambled back out and went crazy! PA and I then spent a good a good amount of time assembling a parking garage for little Loic.
Dinner was seafood, the preference of the hostess Therese. We started with platters of raw oysters, shrimp, whelks, and winkles, all served with mayo. The main course was salmon and rice with a yummy red sauce. Then was a huge cheese course of six or seven varieties. Dessert was a sampling of my date balls (which went over very well), pistachio cakes with white chocolate on top, and a chocolate mousse log covered in ladyfingers. All soooooo delicious! And after that was a coffee and tea course with more chocolates... Phew!
The party lasted late into the night, so PA and I were dropped off at my apartment around 2am. It was officially Christmas, so I didn't feel too weird about opening gifts at night. The family sent me warm socks, sweaters, a new dress, and crafty things like knitting to keep me occupied. PA got me a French press, an awesome black vest, and another gift that hasn't arrived yet. For PA, my parents sent a bunch of Lakers gear, and I got him personalized M&Ms, cologne, and a meerkat shirt!
No sleep for the weary--we had to get to a lunch party on Christmas day at Aunt Beatrice's house in Rennes. We took the bus at noon and were the first to arrive. There was an aperatif of champagne, bread with meat and crab spreads, nuts, different purées to try. Lunch was the same crowd as the night before minus the kids, Nathalie, and Samuel who were with the other side of the family.
On to the food: a real Christmas food tradition is fois gras, which we ate on toast with fig jam and ham and beef strips kind of like prochutto. Sweet white wine was served with that. Christmas day lunch was a chapon, a nurtured chicken the size of a turkey. This was served with farce, a delicious mix of sausage, raisins, and onion; cooked chesnuts; and potatos gratin with cream and cheese. I was so full, but we had to power through more cheeses with red wine and dessert--all of the leftovers of the night before, plus a chocolate cake! I ate so much: it was delicious!
PA and I went to his apartment for awhile so that he could check things online and I could nap. We bussed back to the same place for a dinner of leftovers, which were still good but I was still full from lunch. After some last conversation and some playing with Clémentine and Martin and their new toys, PA's immediate family and I returned to Vitré to see if Santa had passed by there too ;)
He had, in fact, and he even left some cute things for me--placemats, a bath towel, a soap dispensing girl, a French dessert cookbook, and a bracelet with a dog charm! Samuel and I put together Clé's vanity, and we all danced along with the "Jingle Bell Rock" Santa in the living room a few last times before bed.
PA and I then had the Lakers v. Heat game to watch (sadly lost). The next morning Nathalie's family left for Nancy and we spent a quiet day in Vitré. That was nice after a whirlwind Christmas!
Now it's time to try out some French desserts!
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