Pic Cagire.

Last weekend, Monsieur J and I set out for the Pyrénées. After an hour and a half, we arrived at the parking lot for the hike we'd planned to go on: pic Cagire. The information we'd found on the internet warned that the hike was steep, but well worth it for the beautiful views.

I can now confirm that this is an accurate description, though we added a detour.


Unfortunately, we got a little confused by the signage and turned left. This path seemed to wind around the mountain rather than climb up it, ooops. We were a little disappointed but still had lovely views to enjoy and lots of wildlife to take in.


It wasn't until about 2 hours later that we ran into a race. We asked the organizers how to get to the top of the peak and they recommended we turn right and follow the "runners." They weren't actually running, but were muscly creatures moving at quite a clip as they had to pace themselves for the 48 kilometer trek covering three peaks that they had signed up for.

We followed them until we arrived at a refuge, a set of two cabins intended for shepherds and hikers. The runners may have continued on past this checkpoint, but we stopped for sandwiches, cherries and a much needed break.


We asked the man recording the runners' times at the checkpoint how to get from the refuge back to the parking lot. He was curious to know how we'd gotten this far. When we explained the path we'd taken he stared at us in disbelief and bellowing of laughter said, "you turned left out of the parking lot? Do you realize that you added an extra 9 kilometers to your hike?"

He kindly explained that if we continued to follow the runners up to the peak and then down the mountain we would eventually reach the parking lot. Whew. What he failed to mention is that you need to be part mountain goat to reach the top.

The difference in elevation between the parking lot and the summit is somewhere in the neighborhood of 3280 feet; there was still snow on the ground. Translation: this probably wasn't the best idea for our first hike of the season, but I don't regret it.


My legs may have been sore several days afterwards but it's pretty hard to beat a beautiful hike in the mountains.

Breathing a sigh of restaurant relief.

Once we found out that 15 people would be joining us to celebrate, my biggest concern was finding a restaurant that could accommodate all of us for lunch immediately following the ceremony. All sorts of pesky what-ifs were buzzing through my head: what if it's too last minute? What if we can't find a restaurant that has private rooms? What if all of the nice ones are already booked and we end up someplace shady?

However, I am sneaky and had been eyeing a restaurant called Les Copains d'Abord for a while now. Private rooms [check], tantalizing menu [check], not too far from the city center [check].

Monsieur J called on Tuesday because I loathe the telephone here. I know, it's been almost 3 years, but guess what? I still hate talking on the phone in French, especially with strangers. So there. But I digress. The owner confirmed that they had plenty of space and sent a menu for us to review. Well folks, the menu has just arrived and since I can't contain myself, I have to share:

cocktail

sparkling white wine with wild blackberry liqueur

appetizer

foie gras with Guerande salt and toasts

crawfish ravioli in foie gras sauce

sweetbreads with parsley, endive and pine nuts

main course

oven roasted sea bream with hazlenut pesto and rice

cassoulet with duck confit

lamb shank with seasonal vegetables

filet of beef topped with seared foie gras

dessert

candied chestnut soufflé

lemon meringue pie

custard with raspberries

coffee

I'd say it's a pretty traditional French menu with a solid dose of southwest flair, hence all of the duck products. And with three or four choices per course, everyone should be able to pick something that strikes their fancy. Of course no meal in France would be complete without wine, so there will be red and white available to pair with everyone's menu selections, à discrétion.

Who knew? I really can plan a wedding in 3 weeks!